From Fear to Manifesto: How AI Helps Me Find My Voice
For a long time, fear of judgment kept me from sharing what I truly believe in. Out of fear, I rejected my own beliefs and conformed to what seemed acceptable. For years, I was a passive social media user, rarely posting because I was too afraid to share my opinion.
This fear plagued my writing journey here. I've been caught in continuous loops of obsessive perfection, delaying publication, rewriting endlessly to prove my worthiness to have a voice. Every time I write, my stomach tightens and my critical voice echoes: "you're not enough," "this won't be good enough." My perfectionism operates on fuzzy logic: if I do this perfectly, I'll eliminate grounds for judgment, or avoid it entirely by never finishing. It's a self-defeating strategy to avoid pain.
It feels like a straitjacket on my mind, keeping me from expressing my true self. Looking for a way out, I started using LLMs as my personal coach alongside my morning journaling practice. Through this collaboration, I discovered something profound: my perfectionism isn't a personality trait, it's a protection mechanism I unconsciously developed growing up to avoid pain.
The Breakthrough That Changed Everything
This realization did more than help my writing. It showed me technology's transformative potential when approached thoughtfully. Not just as a tool, but as a catalyst for authentic self-expression. AI didn't just help me work faster; it helped me understand myself better and become more authentic.
But here's what troubled me: everywhere I look, I see technology doing the opposite. Social media algorithms exploit our insecurities. AI tools make us feel replaceable. Systems prioritize engagement over our wellbeing. We've reversed the fundamental relationship. We adapt to technology instead of technology adapting to us.
My personal breakthrough sparked a bigger question: what if we intentionally designed all technology to unleash human potential rather than diminish it? This led me to develop principles for what I call Human-First Technology manifesto.
At its core, Human-First Technology means:
Expand human choices while respecting their autonomy.
Support human wellbeing rather than exploit our vulnerabilities.
Strengthen human systems and relationships rather than fragment them.
Create sustainable value that aligns commercial success with human flourishing.
These aren't abstract ideals, they're born from experiencing technology as both liberator and oppressor.
From Principles to Practice: My Focus on Human-First AI
AI's rapid evolution makes these principles more critical than ever. My work now focuses on Human-First AI, not just as a professional stance, but as a deeply personal mission.
This builds on two decades of ML experience, from neural networks and computer vision research in 2006 through co-creating diagnostic and therapeutic to establishing ML departments at software agencies. My early work in healthcare AI highlighted crucial human elements: fear of replacement, building trust, understanding limitations. These lessons shape my approach today.
I focus on three areas:
Unleashing Human Potential: Designing AI that catalyzes creativity and critical thinking, moving beyond automation
Symbiotic Ecosystems: Creating effective human-AI collaboration that amplifies our unique capabilities
Guiding Leaders: Helping organizations align AI's power with human values for sustainable growth
The Courage to Share
Writing this manifesto, and this post, represents overcoming that initial fear of judgment. The same courage required to confront my perfectionism is what we need to question technology's role in our lives.
My future work will focus on building these healthier relationships with technology, with AI as the dominant theme. Because when we design technology that truly serves humanity, we all have the opportunity to flourish.
It is not perfect but I want to share this with you.
I welcome your thoughts.
PS. Beata, thank you for pushing me to share more and stop hiding so much of what I do—you're right that valuable work means nothing if people don't know about it. Piotr, thank you for your honest feedback that my direction wasn't clear and my efforts might be going to waste without clearer purpose. You both motivated me to hit publish on this piece, and I hope it addresses exactly what you called out 💛.