Audrey Tang wants AI built around care, not extraction

Audrey Tang rejects the view of data as a resource to be extracted and compares it instead to soil that must be cultivated and protected. A leader in the Civic AI movement, she argues for pro-social systems aligned with human wellbeing rather than large, uniform models that can push users into dependency.

Tang’s preferred model is a localized AI system she calls Kami, designed to serve a specific community and provide answers that can be traced to public, checkable sources. The approach draws on an ethics of care built around attentiveness, responsibility, competence and responsiveness.

Taiwan applied similar principles after a deep fake advert in early 2024 used Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s likeness to promote an investment scam. The government invited 200,000 people into a consultation process that brought together 447 people in 44 groups, leading to watermarking rules for adverts and financial liability for platforms. Officials later reported a 98% fall in impersonation ads and a 99% fall in investment scam ads.

Tang’s broader record includes the Sunflower revolution of 2014, cabinet roles, Uber regulation talks and digital-first public engagement. Public trust in Taiwan’s government rose from 9% during the Sunflower occupation to 91% after successive consultations and the Covid response. She now backs collaboration among AI companies and the Reverse Alignment coalition as non-human agents account for over 50% of web content requests.