Coexistence Norms

Definition

Coexistence Norms examines coexistence norms within the broader domain of norms, roles, rights, control and long-term coevolution between humans and artificial agents.

Why this matters

Coexistence Norms can materially affect human agency, capability, belonging, livelihoods, culture, trust, resilience and long-term societal outcomes.

Research questions

Under which conditions does coexistence norms improve human and system outcomes, how do effects vary across populations and contexts, and what safeguards prevent dependency, exclusion, distortion or loss of agency?

Hypotheses

A transparent, participatory and human-directed approach to coexistence norms, with explicit safeguards and longitudinal evaluation, will improve human control; trust calibration; dependency; cooperation; conflict; role clarity; safety; wellbeing compared with opaque, automation-first or short-term approaches.

Proposed methods

controlled human-agent studies; governance simulations; ethnography; dependency analysis; conflict games; longitudinal ecosystem observation; literature and policy review; expert and affected-user interviews; reproducibility testing; methods adapted specifically to Coexistence Norms

Stakeholders and beneficiaries

governments; communities; employers; workers; unions; educators; infrastructure operators; emergency services; civil society; researchers; investors; technology providers