Summary of Covenant Principles

This document outlines a framework for “Human Tech” — technology designed to protect individual agency against the concentration of power that typically accompanies technological acceleration.

Core Thesis

The authors argue that technological advancement is irreversible and that accelerationism inherently consolidates power. They propose countering this by embedding “natural rights” into technology itself through what they call a Covenant of Humanistic Technologies.

Key Tenets

The ten principles emphasize:

• Inherent personhood independent of institutional recognition
• Self-sovereignty through personal cryptographic key ownership
• Privacy protection via encryption as a foundational design principle
• Information and capital mobility through open networks
• Security guarantees against surveillance and key compromise
• Accountability based on consent rather than coercion
• Integration of digital and physical public goods
• Human-centered network resilience that prevents power consolidation

Significance

The authors position this covenant as essential alignment among technologists who want to ensure emerging AI and advanced systems don’t enable new forms of mass control, positioning humanistic technology as “a strong defense against methods of mass control.”

For the complete framework, see the full Covenant document .