Frequently Asked Questions

Mission Statement

Certified Human Effort certifies works of purely human effort, fostering human creative talents, and preserving the human voice as the only legitimate source of works that inform our humanity. 

Vision Statement

Human creativity is a vital resource. AI is a tool designed to benefit humanity. In works of technical analysis and innovation (such as medical imaging, pharmaceuticals, and technical design), AI may come to vastly outperform human capacity. That said, AI must not replace or infringe on human creativity. Creative works inspire, motivate, and inform the human spirit. From human designed living spaces to the music we hear, the art we see to the advertisements we watch, from the scripts of movies to the programming of video games, AI must not replace humanity because those things are our humanity. Authentic human effort is required to enrich the human spirit, to stir the human soul. 

We, therefore, believe it self-evident that AI creative works, however novel, are at best an inferior copy and at worst a misrepresentation of the human spirit that literature, art, and creative design seek to capture and impart. We seek to preserve the human spirit by certifying its products and endeavors.   

Yet by what means? Academic institutions are already desperately seeking AI detection solutions to protect student learning. These tools, however, are marginally effective and powered themselves by AI. AI detection bots, like Originality.io, are already facing head to head against AI masking programs, like StealthGPT, creating a never ending cycle of escalation toward becoming indistinguishable from human activity. These advances in inauthentic but ‘human-like’ imitation pose an existential threat to human creative efforts.

As always at the point of crisis, we humans must join together in mutual trust and respect. We must unite under a common banner toward mutually beneficial goals. We must certify our works as being above and outside of AI’s domain. 

Certified Human Effort LLC seeks to provide a common banner. By entering into contract with creative firms and individuals, we seek to certify their efforts to ensure their creative works remain AI free. “AI free” means only humans have provided the vital effort to create a project. From ideation to public release, all creative effort put toward the work must be by exclusively human in origin. In short, the human spirit must infuse the work, from first jot to last tittle.

Certified Human Effort LLC serves a range of creators who certify their works as being above the influence of machine brains. That includes authors, publishers, musicians, artists, programmers, advertising firms, or anyone else committed to following our pledge in their work.

For now, we are developing our social media presence and expanding our merch store, but please contact us about how to add the Certified Human Effort label to your book, album, or other creative work. We'd love to certify your commitment to AI-free ideation and execution. 

Yes. Following the example of organic and non-GMO certification organizations, Certified Human Effort will engage with companies and individuals in a good faith relationship which will allow them to represent the labeling and brand image of Certified Human Effort. This labeling will represent the content creator’s commitment to work in ways consistent with the Certified Human Effort Artisan pledge. 

Our only concern is creative output, not the other aspects of the business of creative work. For example, a novelist writes a book, using traditional means without AI "tools." That novelist then uses AI to create promotional materials to sell her work, track sales, or manage accounting.  We have no objection to those uses of AI. We are only concerned with the creative process that brings life to the product (the actual work that informs the human spirit), not the means by which it is brought to market.

Likewise, creators taking the pledge may still create certain works using AI. So long as those works are not identified as Certified Human Efforts or marketed under a banner of AI-free creation. we have no input. While we prefer works of art that meet our criteria and view other works as artificial imitations of humanity, so long as those works are not claimed to be of the same type or quality as certified human effort, we have no objection.

You shouldn't have to. Our position is that AI influenced works should be forced to carry a labelling showing that they are not purely human efforts.

Open AI, the human creators behind ChatGPT defines its mission as “Creating safe AGI that benefits all of humanity.” Benefits. All. Humanity.

Yet, we have to wonder now if each song we hear, each painting we see, each novel we read is infused with the human spirit… or something else. Certified Human Effort LLC believes it self-evident that AI creative works, however novel, are at best an inferior copy and at worst a misrepresentation of the human spirit that literature, art, and creative design seek to capture and impart. We seek to preserve the human spirit by certifying its products and endeavors.

But that is a strange position in which to place ourselves, is it not? Shouldn’t that be the default? Should it be beholden on artists, writers, designers, programmers, and musicians to need to certify their works as being AI free? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t creators, the people entrusted with informing the human experience, be disclosing how AI enters their process rather than creators solely relying on authentic human means be certifying their work?

Open AI acknowledges the need to tell humans from AIs in its safety policies, saying:

Automated systems (including conversational AI and chatbots) must disclose to users that they are interacting with an AI system. With the exception of chatbots that depict historical public figures, products that simulate another person must either have that person's explicit consent or be clearly labeled as “simulated” or “parody.”

Isn’t it strange that conversational Chatbots must disclose that they are not human. That they are not us. But AI may be used willy nilly within the ideation, creation, and editing processes of works that inform our spirit. Their AI cannot lie to you that it is romantically interested in you, but it can but it can be used to inform your soul without the slightest disclosure.

There is a corollary here: Genetically modified organisms in food. Let’s have ChatGPT summarize the current labelling requirements:

The Standard mandates the labeling of bioengineered foods consumed by humans. Bioengineered foods are defined as those with modified genetic material through lab techniques not possible through conventional breeding or found in nature. Starting in 2022, food makers, importers, and certain retailers must label such foods using approved methods, including text, the bioengineered food symbol, or digital disclosure instructions.

I don’t know your position on Genetically modified foods and it isn’t important for this argument. But Government mandated labeling allows you to choose whether you consume GMO foods. You have a choice. 

We want a choice in what creative expression we consume. Companies are making comparisons to word processing software and design software– but those are tools, and that isn’t what AI is framed as being.

AI isn’t a tool, it is much more than that. I have worked with tools my whole life, and I have never been asked to collaborate with my hammer or pen. Yet ChatGPT frames us as being collaborators with it:

Embrace Collaboration: Rather than perceiving AI as a threat, humans can embrace collaboration with AI systems. AI can be a powerful tool that enhances creativity, offering new possibilities, insights, and capabilities. Artists and creatives can work alongside AI systems, leveraging their computational abilities to augment their own artistic vision.

Collaborate with a tool? The words smack of incongruity. Does the chef collaborate with the oven? Does the sculptor with their chisel? 

We don’t know yet what these AIs are or will become. They hold great promise, in many areas that may benefit all of humanity. But, when it comes to the works that inform our humanity, we do not need their partnership or permission. We’ve got this. We’re authentic human creators. We will keep our humanity alive.