he future of governance is and should be human or at least mostly human—as opposed to agentic, automatized, or robotic.
Just as we talk about putting the human in the tech loop to ensure that cutting edge tech doesn’t go off the rails, we need to keep the (good) human aspects of governance at the center of governance.
With the twin factors of unfettered exponential tech competition (including geopolitical implications), and the worldwide decline in leadership trust by stakeholders, we are losing some (or a lot) of what makes us human: empathy, judgment, care. Combating that requires we keep humans at the core of governance. What makes us human should always be integral to every level of governance—international, national, or organizational.
The future of governance will only arrive well if it is (mostly) human.
While exciting and potentially deeply game changing for the better (in health, education, even climate change), current exponential technologies also have a dark underbelly of savage competition that wants nothing to do with governance.
Witness the ongoing polarization between technologists who call themselves “accelerationists” and want no regulation (e.g., Silicon Valley mogul, Marc Andreessen, or David Sachs, chair of President Trump’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology) and those who are focused on technology arriving well through good governance. These latter individuals are often disparagingly called “decelerationists” or “doomers” (mainly by accelerationists). To the contrary, I like to think of these leaders as enlightened tech stewards. They include leaders like Tristan Harris & Aza Raskin from the Center for Humane Technology, and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, who warn of unfettered “dehumanization” that ungoverned exponential tech can bring.
Closely intertwined with this separation into warring camps is the rise of widespread global stakeholder distrust in leaders of all kinds—government, business, media, and even civil society. This is especially so when it comes to believing what leaders say and specifically what they say about tech and the future of work.
Good governance is built on human qualities and voluntary actions. Or put differently, we cannot wait for governments to develop perfect guardrails and regulations. We need to do what’s right for the broader stakeholder community now through our own voluntary actions.
Here are some tactical thoughts:
- Get rid of the governance noise (e.g., shut down your distractive devices).
- Stay focused on the governance signal—your human created agenda and priorities.
- Engage directly and in person with key stakeholders.
- Reward emotional intelligence, curiosity, and humility in leaders.
And here’s a concluding strategic thought: all stakeholders should work on putting and keeping responsible humans in the governance loop.
And above all, please don’t replace humans in governance roles with AI agents or worse yet, humanoids!
a global affairs media network
The future of governance is (mostly) human
July 16, 2025
Just as we talk about putting the human in the tech loop to ensure that cutting–edge tech doesn’t go off the rails, we need to keep the (good) human aspects of governance at the center of governance, writes Andrea Bonime–Blanc.
T
he future of governance is and should be human or at least mostly human—as opposed to agentic, automatized, or robotic.
Just as we talk about putting the human in the tech loop to ensure that cutting edge tech doesn’t go off the rails, we need to keep the (good) human aspects of governance at the center of governance.
With the twin factors of unfettered exponential tech competition (including geopolitical implications), and the worldwide decline in leadership trust by stakeholders, we are losing some (or a lot) of what makes us human: empathy, judgment, care. Combating that requires we keep humans at the core of governance. What makes us human should always be integral to every level of governance—international, national, or organizational.
The future of governance will only arrive well if it is (mostly) human.
While exciting and potentially deeply game changing for the better (in health, education, even climate change), current exponential technologies also have a dark underbelly of savage competition that wants nothing to do with governance.
Witness the ongoing polarization between technologists who call themselves “accelerationists” and want no regulation (e.g., Silicon Valley mogul, Marc Andreessen, or David Sachs, chair of President Trump’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology) and those who are focused on technology arriving well through good governance. These latter individuals are often disparagingly called “decelerationists” or “doomers” (mainly by accelerationists). To the contrary, I like to think of these leaders as enlightened tech stewards. They include leaders like Tristan Harris & Aza Raskin from the Center for Humane Technology, and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, who warn of unfettered “dehumanization” that ungoverned exponential tech can bring.
Closely intertwined with this separation into warring camps is the rise of widespread global stakeholder distrust in leaders of all kinds—government, business, media, and even civil society. This is especially so when it comes to believing what leaders say and specifically what they say about tech and the future of work.
Good governance is built on human qualities and voluntary actions. Or put differently, we cannot wait for governments to develop perfect guardrails and regulations. We need to do what’s right for the broader stakeholder community now through our own voluntary actions.
Here are some tactical thoughts:
- Get rid of the governance noise (e.g., shut down your distractive devices).
- Stay focused on the governance signal—your human created agenda and priorities.
- Engage directly and in person with key stakeholders.
- Reward emotional intelligence, curiosity, and humility in leaders.
And here’s a concluding strategic thought: all stakeholders should work on putting and keeping responsible humans in the governance loop.
And above all, please don’t replace humans in governance roles with AI agents or worse yet, humanoids!
