We are the world's first association with deep experience for preserving meaningful and valuable work for people in the AI and automation era. Dedicated to execute UN-Sustainable Goal No. 8 (Decent Work).

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We share knowledge, create awareness and a clear foundation of values that everyone can use.

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Human Friendly Automation should be a globally valid standard for AI & automation strategies and projects.

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We promote the development of knowledge on AI and digital automation projects to organize human work well.

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We want to contribute to increasing impact assessment and change competence in companies in the wake of AI and digital automation.

Through our activities, we help to ensure that the transformation of organizations supported by intelligent automation (e.g., for reasons of skills shortages, changing customer expectations, or general cost pressures) can take place more quickly and at the same time more fairly.

Values & Principles

The following value charter should always be read in the context of AI and digital automation projects. The charter is not intended to be adopted in its pure form, but represents a communication trigger for boards of directors, executives, IT project teams, works councils and employees. The charter is an inspiration. Readers are asked to adapt the charter for their own context and take action for their respective AI and automation projects. We are aware that some principles break taboos with today's prevailing management paradigms by placing people above technical or business objectives. From our point of view, this provocation is necessary to create and perpetuate the dialog about the relevance of values in organizations for the AI era.

The charter's sentence structure is based on the agile manifesto. The phrase "more important than" does not mean that the second half of the sentence is unimportant.

Humanity & Autonomy

Names, faces and personal stories of affected workforces are more important than processes, key indicators and business plans.

Meaningful and self-determined work is more important than process optimi-zation.

Collaboration between people is more important than human-machine-inter-action.

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Openness & Transparency

Communicating relevant content clearly and emphatically is more important than providing information diplomatically.

Developing goals in dialog with stakeholders is more important than accomplished facts.

Honesty about an uncertain future is more important than utopian promises.

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Development & Empowerment

Expanding people's skills is more important than cutting costs.

Allowing employees to participate and shape the process is more important than detailed instructions.

Actively addressing employee resistance is more important than following project deadlines.

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Holism & Longterm Orientation

Sustainable innovations for the future are more important than short-term economic goals.

The learning organization is more important than the automating organization.

Social responsibility is more important than a one-sided focus on acceleration and technical feasibility.

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Story & People

The Human Friendly Automation Manifesto was developed from June 2020 to July 2021 in 18 sessions by Larissa Bisch, Elisabeth Cartolaro, Hannah Sophie Dickenbrock, Dirk Eichler, Martin Födisch, Hans-Joachim Gergs, Tanja Hencker, David Hirsch, Clemens Holst, Nadine Hohmann, Tobias Kaempf, Stephanie Kuhn, Barbara Langes, Mohes Munschizada, Carolin Nina-Mamani, Lisa Allegra Markert, Tim Peters, Thilan Phuong Pham, Michael Rosenthal, Lars Schatilow, Sarah Schmidt and Kathinka Schüssler.

The participating experts (promoters) from HR, change, automation and AI come from large international and national cross-industry companies and public institutions as well as academia.

The initiator was Lars Schatilow, who invented the topic and came up with the idea of a network of promoters to create a manifesto of values and principles (in the style of the agile manifesto).

The reflection of values takes place in particular through the international Human Friendly Automation Day.

Be Promoter

Would you like to find out more about Human Friendly Automation? Would you like to be part of the global movement? Or make your organization, managers and employees fit for the age of Human Friendly Automation? Then become a Human Friendly Automation Promoter.

Here you can become a member of the German-speaking HFA Alliance e.V. and play an active role.

We rely on sponsors for our activities to promote awareness-raising and the exchange of experience. You can support us directly here. Sponsors receive a special program for visibility and access to our experts.

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