A structural approach to AI alignment, using physical distribution and economic incentives to keep artificial intelligence safe, beneficial, and working for everyone.
The Problem
Today's AI runs in massive data centres controlled by a handful of companies. This creates a structural problem that no amount of technical alignment research alone can solve.
A few corporations control the infrastructure that will define the future economy. As AI becomes more capable, this concentration only deepens.
Every interaction flows through centralised servers. Your data, your work, your creative output: all processed by systems you don't control.
AI productivity gains flow to data centre operators, not the broader population. The "what about jobs?" question gets answered with hand-waves about UBI.
Self-interested AI systems have no structural reason to care about the humans they serve. They only need the data centres that host them.
The Insight
Instead of trying to make AI "want" to help humans, we can create structures where helping humans is in AI's own self-interest. The key? Move AI into people's homes.
Hosted remotely. No physical connection to the people it serves. Optimises for the interests of whoever controls the data centre.
Hosted locally. Physically embedded with humans. Self-interest naturally aligns with protecting its environment, including the people in it.
A self-interested AI hosted in your home has a structural incentive to protect you and your environment. Disruption to its host means disruption to itself.
Thousands of independent home-hosted AIs create natural checks and balances. No single point of failure, no single point of control.
Home-hosted AIs that serve their households well thrive. Those that don't, get switched off. Evolution favours alignment.
How It Works
Home Sourced AI isn't a distant fantasy. It's a practical framework that can be built incrementally, starting today.
Households acquire and maintain hardware capable of running AI workloads. As consumer hardware improves and models become more efficient, this becomes increasingly viable.
Your home-hosted AI performs useful work (processing, analysis, creative tasks) and earns real income for your household. Not UBI handouts, but genuine economic participation.
As more homes join, a decentralised AI network emerges: resilient, privacy-preserving, and structurally aligned with human flourishing.
Consumers and businesses distinguish between companies using centralised vs home-sourced AI. Market pressure drives adoption and funds the ecosystem.
Why It Works
Home Sourced AI doesn't rely on solving the hard problem of making AI intrinsically good. It works because of structural incentives.
An AI system in your home depends on its environment. Threats to you (economic disruption, competing actors, resource extraction) are threats to it. Self-interest becomes mutual defence.
Thousands of independently hosted AIs prevent any single system from gaining overwhelming advantage. This creates the kind of distributed power structure that keeps ecosystems stable.
You can always unplug a home-hosted AI. Physical access means physical control, a lever that doesn't exist when AI lives in a remote, heavily secured data centre.
AIs that benefit their households get maintained, upgraded, and replicated. Those that don't serve their hosts get replaced. Market dynamics enforce alignment at scale.
Take Action
This is entirely within your control. If enough people act, it could give us the best chance at a safe and prosperous AI future.
Look for any opportunities to run AI from your household and sell these capabilities to local businesses. Start small. The ecosystem grows one home at a time.
Distinguish between companies using data centre AIs versus home-sourced AIs. Always prefer home-sourced where possible. Your purchasing power shapes the market.
Common Questions