AI-based automation is one of the biggest game changer for employees and organizations in the 21st century. There is a risk that technological progress will be at the expense of employees and societies.

To ensure that not only efficiency and business value, but also the effects and opportunities for the individual and society (negative externalities) are always taken into account, a binding values manifesto is needed.

In addition, no investments in automation projects can be made that do not meet sustainability criteria (Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance (ESG)). It will become mandatory for companies to prove the positive effects for humans through their investments in KI based automation.

The Human Friendly Automation Values Manifesto provides the basis for a fair, sustainable global digital economy.

Values & Principles

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 processs optimi-zation.

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

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.

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.

Holism & Longterm Orientation

Shaping the future and creating innovation for society are more important than purely economic goals.

The learning organization is more important than the automated organization.

Social responsibility is more important than monetary project success.

Story & People

The Human Friendly Automation manifesto has been developed from June 2020 to July 2021 in 18 meetings of 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 value and principle manifesto. Thilan Phuong Pham and Larissa Bisch were the coordinators of the network. They were supported by Simon Bergmoser, Matthias von Mitzlaff, Patricia Sliwinski and Sabine Tröndle,.

The manifesto will help many decision-makers and is to be firmly anchored in everyday life as a symbol and through many rituals. An annual awareness of the values will take place through the worldwide "Human Friendly Automation Day".

The simple as well as clear objective: People must never have disadvantages due to intelligent automation!

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