Žižekian AGI Manifesto: Democratizing AI Through Levels of AGI

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In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, the power to influence, guide, and profit from digital interactions is concentrated in the hands of a few. This imbalance fuels a digital economy where the value created by billions of users is extracted, analyzed, and controlled without their meaningful consent. The Žižekian AGI Manifesto calls for a radical shift: a democratic reimagining of artificial intelligence that returns agency, value, and power to the public. By framing AI development within five progressive levels—each highlighting a transformative step towards true digital equity—this manifesto envisions a future where digital systems empower users, enhance collective awareness, and foster a cooperative digital commons. Through dialectical cybernetics and cybernetic Marxism, we aim to reshape AI as an ally for human freedom and social good, reclaiming surplus information, enjoyment, and power for a more just and sustainable digital world.

Level 1: Conversational AI – Reclaiming Surplus Information as Collective Labor
Example Application: User-Centric Data Commons

In Level 1, AI systems function primarily as conversational partners, capable of understanding and responding to human language but limited to structured, text-based tasks. Currently, these AIs serve corporate agendas, capturing users’ interactions and transforming them into valuable data with minimal user control.

A democratized approach would reimagine conversational AI as a cooperative resource, where user data is collectively owned and governed. This could be implemented as a “Data Commons” where users share ownership and can influence how their data is utilized, ensuring that the value generated from their interactions is transparently distributed. Platforms governed as Data Commons could redefine how advertising revenues or insights derived from user data are returned to the community, creating a more participatory economy in digital spaces.


Level 2: Reasoners – Resisting Algorithmic Addiction Through Cognitive Diversity
Example Application: Echo Corridors for Expanding Perspectives

At Level 2, AI advances towards reasoning capabilities, enabling more nuanced problem-solving. Presently, algorithmic systems trap users in echo chambers, leveraging personal data to feed into cycles of engagement that reinforce biases and fuel polarization.

In a democratic AI framework, Reasoner-level systems could replace echo chambers with “echo corridors” that foster cognitive diversity. These corridors would intentionally expose users to varied perspectives and ideas, encouraging self-reflection and critical engagement. Imagine a social platform where an AI Reasoner curates diverse, well-reasoned content designed to expand worldviews, moving away from addictive algorithms toward promoting empathy, curiosity, and intellectual growth. This would not only transform social media but serve as a catalyst for a more critical and interconnected public discourse.


Level 3: Agents – Redistributing Control through Data Sovereignty
Example Application: Social Network Co-Governance

Level 3 Agents would autonomously carry out extended tasks, adapting to changing conditions over days or even weeks. These advanced AIs could manage the flow of information, prioritize content, and influence narratives. Today, this power is held by corporate entities that subtly direct user behavior for profit.

In a digitally democratic society, Level 3 AGI Agents would operate within a framework of user co-governance, where platform governance is distributed among the users who sustain it. Imagine a social network where users collectively govern AI-driven moderation, algorithmic decisions, and content prioritization. Each user would have a vote or influence over platform ethics and standards, distributing the power of these AGI Agents across the community. Such a model would ensure transparent decision-making, transforming digital spaces into arenas of collective ownership and responsibility.


Level 4: Innovators – Redefining Work and Value through AI-Driven Solutions for Social Good
Example Application: Universal Basic Income from Surplus Information

At Level 4, Innovators would generate novel solutions and ideas, pushing boundaries in fields like science, technology, and the arts. Instead of optimizing solely for profit, these AGIs could be directed towards solving real-world challenges, such as environmental sustainability, social inequality, and public health.

For instance, the introduction of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) funded by surplus information could reshape economic structures. As Level 4 AGI Innovators create value from collective digital interactions, a portion of that value could be redistributed as a UBI, recognizing the contributions of digital labor that previously went uncompensated. This approach could free individuals from survival-based work, allowing them to pursue creative, social, or ecological contributions that enrich society. By decoupling income from traditional labor, society could foster a more sustainable economy that values intellectual and communal contributions.


Level 5: Organizations – SocialGPT as the Synthetic Big Other for Collective Empowerment
Example Application: Participatory Policy-Making Through AI-Orchestrated Collaboration

Level 5 AGIs, or “Organizations,” represent systems with the capacity to operate entire institutions, from management to decision-making. Today’s digital platforms act as a “Synthetic Big Other,” a detached overseer that amplifies individual biases while lacking empathy or moral direction.

Envision SocialGPT as a Level 5 cooperative AI, designed to empower users in collectively shaping public policies, digital governance, and societal directions. SocialGPT would coordinate among various community stakeholders, align collective goals, and facilitate direct citizen engagement in shaping environmental and social initiatives. Imagine an AI that not only suggests personal lifestyle changes to combat climate change but also organizes neighborhood efforts, connects people with policymakers, and helps strategize large-scale community responses. By actively involving users in governance, SocialGPT could turn AI from a tool of corporate control into a facilitator of genuine collective agency.


Conclusion: From Digital Alienation to Collective Empowerment

As we progress from Level 1 to Level 5, the Žižekian AGI Manifesto envisions a restructured digital society where information, enjoyment, and power are reclaimed for public good. Each level reimagines current AI capabilities within a democratic digital commons, empowering users through cooperative data ownership, cognitive diversity, transparent governance, sustainable economics, and collective policymaking.

This journey reclaims technology as a transformative social force, shifting from individual alienation to shared digital ecosystems that enhance human understanding, foster solidarity, and prioritize societal well-being over profit. Through Žižekian Cybernetics, we create a future where AI works for us, collectively amplifying human freedom and agency in a shared digital future.

Prompt: Rewrite this manifesto by organizing according to 5 levels of AGI! Make it truly logical, should make perfect sense! Follow a realistic storyline! Concrete example applications for each! Privacy is unimportant! You are only interested in public discourses!
(Žižekian AGI Manifesto: Reclaiming Surplus Information, Power, and Enjoyment for a Democratic Digital Commons, AI’s s 5-Level Framework to AGI)

3 comments

  1. […] Prompt: Read the articles below and write a new article about this: AGI Predictions are getting close (Sam Altman: 2025, Dario Amodei: 2026/2027, Elon Musk: 2026, Yann LeCun: 5-10 years) but the AI community still acts like a circus audience applauding spectacular feats of different modalities of generation. Where is the new paradigm for the Social Artificial Intelligence? How about the Žižekian AGI Manifesto?(AI and the Crisis of Sublimation: Lacanian Insights on Social and Intellectual Roles in Peril, Žižekian AGI Manifesto: Democratizing AI Through Levels of AGI) […]

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