ACG Manifesto

🚀 Embracing Innovation

We, software development professionals, are exploring the innovations made available by the development in the Artificial Intelligence space. We recognize the transformative potential of AI technologies to improve lives, enhance productivity, and solve complex problems.

⚠️ Demanding Quality

We are concerned about the proliferation of half-baked, barely verified and tested content that current AI/LLM technology is notorious for delivering. We commit to maintaining rigorous standards for verification, testing, and validation of AI-assisted outputs before they reach production environments.

🛡️ Ensuring Safety & Security

We insist that a proper harness be provided to ensure engineering quality, safety, security, and legal liability for all products delivered with the assistance of AI technology. Every AI-assisted system must be held to the same standards of reliability and accountability as traditional software systems.

🧠 Protecting Humans

We advocate the need for psychological safety of humans who are exposed to any products and content generated by AI. We recognize that AI systems can have profound impacts on human well-being, decision-making, and autonomy, and we prioritize the protection of human interests above technological convenience.

👁️ Respecting User Agency and Informed Consent

We respect user agency and informed consent. We ensure that the use of AI is not hidden or deceptive, that users are made aware when AI materially influences outcomes, and that they retain the ability to understand, question, and contest AI-assisted decisions. Transparency is not optional—it is a fundamental requirement for ethical AI deployment.

⚖️ The Right and Duty to Refuse

We affirm the right and duty of software professionals to refuse the design, deployment, or operation of AI-assisted systems that are unsafe, deceptive, unverifiable, or that undermine human dignity, autonomy, or trust. Ethical refusal is a professional obligation, not a personal failing. We stand together in supporting colleagues who make principled decisions to protect the public interest.

AI Craftspeople Guild (ACG) was originally conceived and created by Alex Bunardzic. ACG Manifesto was created by Alex Bunardzic in collaboration with Woody Zuill, Jona Heidsick, Matt Burch, Alex Thurow, and Tsvetan Tsvetanov.