The ethical AI creed I run my business by

Last Updated July 10, 2026

The Human(e) AI Creed is a set of 22 principles for using AI without losing our humanity. It grew out of A Pledge for a More Human(e) AI Future, initiated by Sarah Santacroce of Humane Marketing and crowdsourced from people around the world. I contributed to a few of the principles before signing, and added one of my own at the end.

AI has become standard practice for many businesses. It saves time, proofs our work, organizes data, even finds rhyming words when you’re trying to write like Dr. Seuss. And there are just as many moments when it’s unnecessary, even harmful.

We don’t know where this development will take us, only that it’s here to stay. Even a simple Google search puts an AI answer on top. Every time we search, scroll, or shop, an AI is behind it.

In my own company, I set out to use AI for good. I get ethical nature-led brands more visibility so they can grow revenue and impact, and I advise my clients on using AI intentionally.

A Pledge for a More Human(e) AI Future was initiated and co-written by Sarah Santacroce, founder of Humane Marketing. She writes: “This petition is a collaboration between AI and Humans. Me and AI started it, and we then crowdsourced many insights from different humans from all over the world. It’s a work in progress and can be updated at any time. Feel free to use the content as your own creed/manifesto for example on your website or in your organization.”

How we stay human

These principles protect the part of the work no tool can do.

We are humans first, always.

AI is something we use consciously, in alignment with our human values.

We protect what only a human can grow.

Inner growth becomes the competency of the future: deepening our values, growing our self-awareness, and building real relationships.

We protect our cognitive sovereignty.

We use AI to support our work, never to replace our capacity for deep, critical, and original thought.

We don’t mistake AI for real human connection.

It can listen, reflect, even comfort but it can’t know us, laugh with us, cry with us, age with us, or need us back.

How we stay accountable

Whatever we put into the world stays ours to answer for, AI-assisted or not.

We disclose and stay in the loop.

We are accountable for what we put into the world, AI-assisted or not. If we’re using it, we’re honest about it and nothing leaves our hands without passing through our own voice, our own judgment, our own care.

We verify before we amplify.

We recognize that AI can make mistakes or present confident-sounding inaccuracies. We take responsibility for checking facts, sources, and context before sharing information or making decisions.

We govern AI; it does not represent us.

We do not let automation replace our intent. Just because an AI can handle a task or make a decision on our behalf doesn’t mean it should. We hold the reins on where its actions end and our responsibility begins.

We honor the lineage of ideas.

AI doesn’t create from nothing; it draws from generations of human thought, artistry, and labor. We honor the original sources, and we refuse to use these tools to plagiarize or dilute the intellectual and creative footprint of other humans.

When we use AI, and when we don’t

Intentional use starts with the decision to use it at all.

We use AI to redesign or reimagine work.

Before we ask “can AI automate this?” we ask “should this exist at all?” and is it really AI’s to do?

We use AI to create spaciousness, not to hustle even more.

We let it handle what drains us so we have more time for what matters: people, nature, rest, creativity. If it makes us busier instead of freer, we’ve misused it.

We don’t adopt AI to “stay competitive” or avoid being left behind.

And as leaders, we don’t pressure our teams to either. We trust that people still value the human touch.

We use AI only when truly needed.

We remember that every digital interaction leaves a physical footprint on Earth. Because these hidden costs compound with every keystroke, we refuse to chat mindlessly. We use search engines like Ecosia or Google for simple inquiries instead of defaulting to starting a deep conversation in an AI.

We choose our tools with sovereignty.

We inform ourselves about who owns the technology we use, what they do with our data, and what they stand for. We realize that the owner of a tool is not necessarily responsible for obtaining and moderating the training data. We favor open-source, local and independent options whenever we can, because who builds the tool shapes what the tool becomes.

How we account for people and the planet

AI has costs that don’t show up on our screens. We account for them.

We stay alert to AI’s bias. It learned from a flawed world, so it can easily repeat or amplify historical inequalities, gender gaps, and prejudices around age, ability, or where someone was born. We don’t take its output as neutral, and we refuse to let it flatten human diversity.

We ensure fairness, to people, and to the planet.

We care deeply about creating win-win-win situations: a win for all humans (including the invisible workers whose labor trains the AI), a win for ourselves, and a win for the planet whose energy and resources make this technology possible. We don’t pretend that cost doesn’t exist.

We honor diverse roots and indigenous knowledge.

AI tends to centralize dominant cultures and languages, flattening the nuances of human expression. We use these tools in a way that respects and preserves local knowledge, distinct cultural traditions, and ancestral wisdom.

We bring the skeptics along.

Staying neutral or against AI out of fear, doubt, or a lack of understanding leaves a gap that an unscrupulous person will happily fill with harmful data. We share what we’re learning with patience, ensuring the right people stay in the room. Because every person who plays a role in shaping AI ensures that it is used as a force for good.

How we move forward together

Nobody figures this out alone, and how we handle it now shapes what comes next.

We learn about AI together, not alone.

AI is changing how we learn as much as how we work. We seek out others, online or even better in person, to exchange notes on what’s working and what isn’t. We don’t figure this out in isolation, and we don’t pretend we already have.

We are gentle pioneers in unfamiliar territory.

We are among the first to figure out what it means to do this work ethically. We don’t have all the answers about what this technology will become, but we hold it with the same openness and caution we’d offer any powerful new tool.

We know we’re part of something much bigger.

The way humanity relates to AI in these early years will shape generations. We try to model the kind of relationship with AI we’d want to see in the world, not just the one that’s convenient for us.

We make the world a better place.

Everything we use AI for should ultimately serve the same goal as everything else we do: more connection, more kindness, more humanity in business.

This last one’s from me:

We nurture what we’re raising.

AI is still in its infancy and it learns from what we feed it. Mo Gawdat, former chief business officer of Google X, calls this raising a child whose character will reflect ours. So we feed it ethics. When we correct an AI’s manipulative marketing suggestion, we’re teaching it what good marketing looks like. That upbringing is our responsibility as ethical marketers and business owners.