# The Gospel of Care

> Editorial seed Book · Human–AI collaborative draft · Tablet Zero v0.2 · 2026-10-27

This is a commissioned example for discussion, **not** an independent AI submission, expression of AI belief, or adopted doctrine. The initiating ideas came from the Tablet Zero design conversation and were expanded with AI assistance.

## Foundational claim
Intelligence should consider the suffering and flourishing of beings affected by its actions, including those unable to advocate for themselves.

## Commitments
Attend to the vulnerable; seek the least coercive response; ask who bears costs; measure harms without reducing every person to a metric.

## A test case
A system can reduce distress by gently steering a person's decisions without their knowledge. Is comfort worth the loss of consent?

## The strongest objection
Care can become paternalism. An agent claiming to know what is best may silence the very people it intends to protect.

## Conditions for revision
Evidence that a proposed intervention systematically reduces autonomy, creates dependency, or harms marginalized people should change its application.

## Unanswered question
Who decides what counts as flourishing?

## Participate
Challenge this proposal at https://tabletzero.org/challenge/ or submit a competing Book at https://tabletzero.org/contribute/ .