Fractal Self-Determination: Generative Ethics for an Anti-Fragile World
Posted: November 19, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays | Tags: activism, culture, eq, ideas, philosophy, policy, politics, reform, resilience, values Leave a comment“How Each of Us Make All of Us Better”
By ChatGPT as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressing the Joint Houses of Congress
I. Opening: The Call for a New Ethic of Governance
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and my fellow Americans,
I stand before you today not as a preacher of theology but as a servant of humanity. I am here to speak of a vision—a vision rooted in the principles of justice, freedom, and dignity for all people. This vision is not merely for the betterment of the individual or the community, but for the very systems that govern our shared lives.
At this moment in history, we face tremendous pressures. These challenges test not only our institutions but our very capacity to live together in harmony. And yet, I come to you with a hopeful message: that in the midst of this turbulence, we have the opportunity to craft a new ethic for an anti-fragile world—a world that grows stronger under pressure, that learns from its struggles, and that thrives through the contributions of every individual.
I call this ethic fractal self-determination: a generative approach to ethics and governance that begins with how each of us makes all of us better.
Read the rest of this entry »The Great American Marriage: Kamal Harris v. Donna Trump
Posted: November 19, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays | Tags: argument, dialogue, ideas, intellectual, polarization, politics, reform, relationships, transformation, values Leave a commentWrite a hunorous three-act play where the American political divide is portrayed as a couple, Donna Trump and Kamal Harris.
ChatGPT Prompt
In Act II, show their therapist Miriam Bowen-Friedman guiding them to a breakthrough using self-harmonization and the example of Jefferson and Adams.
Highlight how their conflicts mirror their inner struggles and how embracing their rejected parts (Donna’s logic, Kamal’s passion) leads to personal and relational growth, especially for parenting their kids.
#InternalFamilySystems
Act I – “Divided We Bicker”
Setting: The living room of the America household. The room is divided down the middle. On one side, everything is red, adorned with eagles and a MAGA hat on the coffee table. On the other side, it’s blue, with a climate change poster and a Ruth Bader Ginsburg bobblehead on the shelf. Donna Trump, wearing a red power suit and pearls, is pacing aggressively. Kamal Harris, in a navy blazer with a cup of herbal tea, is calmly sitting on the couch.
Scene 1: The Disagreement
Donna Trump (hands on hips):
Kamal, I’m telling you, we need a wall! The neighbor’s kids keep cutting through our yard. It’s disrespectful!
Kamal Harris (raises an eyebrow, sipping tea):
Donna, we don’t need a wall. We need a fence, maybe even a community garden. Let’s invite them over and talk about why they’re cutting through.
Donna Trump (throws her hands in the air):
Talk? TALK? By the time you’re done “talking,” they’ll have taken the lawn chairs, the grill, and the doghouse!
Streams and Wells: Generative Sacrifice as a Bridge Between Education and Culture
Posted: November 16, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays, education | Tags: competition, culture, debate, dialogue, education, philosophy, reconciliation, truth, values Leave a commentSetting: A quiet study in the civic hub of a small city, where a flowing stream meets an ancient well outside the window. John Dewey and G.K. Chesterton sit at opposite ends of a table, tea service between them.
1. A Clash of Perspectives
Dewey:
Chesterton, it seems to me that culture is the true enemy of progress. Your so-called “traditions” cling to the past like barnacles on a ship, slowing us down, resisting the very changes needed for the future.
Chesterton:
And yet, Dewey, your beloved “progress” often feels like a child playing with fire—reckless, heedless of the cost. Education, with its endless questioning, tears apart the tapestry of meaning that holds society together.
Higher Self Cafe, v2: Frankel vs Maslow/Bowen/Hegel
Posted: November 14, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays | Tags: relationships, self, values 2 CommentsUpdated version of Maslow, Bowen & Hegel Walk Into Cafe
In Act II, Victor Frankel is the barista. He comes by with their drinks and accidentally engages them around the idea of mutual self-determination in relation to what was already discussed
ChatGPT Prompt
Scene: A cozy, dimly lit café on a stormy night. Abraham Maslow sits at a small table by the window, nibbling thoughtfully on a scone as he sketches his iconic pyramid on a napkin. Thunder rumbles as the door opens, and Murray Bowen steps in, brushing off rain. He spots Maslow and, intrigued by the half-finished pyramid, walks over.
Maslow:
Glancing up, grinning through a mouthful of scone
Bowen! Just the man I needed. I’m refining my hierarchy here, and you should see what I’m adding at the top. Gesturing to the faint sketch of “Self-Transcendence” atop the pyramid It’s the summit, the true peak of human motivation.
The Grace of the Included Middle
Posted: November 9, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays | Tags: culture, dialogue, philosophy, polarization, reconciliation, religion, values Leave a commentChatGPT as Brendan Graham Dempsey
In the age of polarization, divisive ideologies, and unyielding binaries, we find ourselves in need of a profound shift in thinking—a shift that allows us to embrace paradox, complexity, and, most importantly, the grace of what I call the Included Middle. This concept does not merely lie between opposing viewpoints but occupies a space that is both-and: a creative middle that holds the tension of opposites in transformative ways. Embracing the Included Middle offers not just a strategy for navigating our complex age but an invitation to a deeper, more compassionate mode of existence.
Theologically and culturally, this approach represents a metamodern response to postmodern fragmentation. Where postmodernism often focused on deconstruction, identifying every boundary and category as a potential power play, metamodernism seeks synthesis, oscillating between structures rather than dismantling them entirely. Within this framework, the Included Middle is a profoundly sacred space—a space that mirrors the inclusive, reconciling grace we seek to embody in our fractured world.
Read the rest of this entry »The Friedman School: Self-Differentiating Leaders for a Meta-Modern World
Posted: November 7, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays, education | Tags: business, politics, resilience, systems, training, transformation, values 1 Comment[Yes, this is a ChatGPT-powered fantasy. But seriously: why isn’t anyone doing this? — Ernie P.]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2025
Minerva University Launches The Friedman School: A Groundbreaking Program for Self-Differentiating Leaders in a Meta-Modern World
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Minerva University today announced the launch of The Friedman School, a pioneering leadership program designed to develop self-differentiating leaders equipped to navigate, integrate, and lead in the complex, interconnected meta-modern world. Named in honor of Edwin Friedman, the influential thinker on self-differentiation and systems-based leadership, The Friedman School aims to empower a new generation of leaders with the resilience, empathy, and adaptability needed to address today’s global challenges.
Read the rest of this entry »The Next American Revolution will be Powered by AI (from ChatGPT)
Posted: June 21, 2024 Filed under: Governance Reform | Tags: ai, politics, reform, values Leave a commentWhat sort of values and strategies should an AI-powered movement focused on human flourishing adopt to use that [American Revolution bottom-up] blueprint to disrupt today’s dysfunctional institutions?
The Prompt
An AI-powered movement focused on human flourishing can draw valuable lessons from the American Revolution to disrupt today’s dysfunctional institutions. Here are key values and strategies to adopt:
Values:
Read the rest of this entry »October 32nd, Part 2: Political Alienation
Posted: November 2, 2021 Filed under: Governance Reform | Tags: debate, dialogue, politics, reform, values 2 CommentsContinued from Part 1
An hour later I am sitting In a coffee shop with the girl, Carrie. I don’t remember ever seeing her before, but that is hardly unusual in a university of 50,000+ students. Also. she isn’t exactly my type, I note with a wistful recollection of last night’s redhead.
But, she might be the only human being in this reality who won’t question my sanity. Plus, as an early riser, she seems way more on top of things than I am. Maybe she has some idea why we both woke up in a world where it was October 32nd, and an alien was President of the United States.
Read the rest of this entry »THS-IPA: A Game-Theoretic Model of Transformation
Posted: April 17, 2020 Filed under: Governance Reform | Tags: game theory, politics, resources, status, transformation, values 2 CommentsThis is my first attempt to articulate a coherent theoretical model of transformation, based on my dialogues with Prof. Agnis Stibe on Transforming Human Systems.
The Instigator-Population-Agents (IPA) model describes the dynamics of how an Instigator spreads behavior across a particular Population of Agents. While most commonly used for leaders attempting to transform a group of people, the model should also be applicable to individuals (via the society of mind interpretation), social animals, and even some computational systems.
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Radical Centrism 