STUDIO 13 / HUMAN LAYER / PHASE ZERO
The internet needs a human layer.
Synthetic content can scale almost without limit. Human attention cannot.
Human Layer explores how human authorship, provenance and accountability can remain visible in an increasingly synthetic internet.
Concept and selection: Paul-Lukas Hertz. Created with OpenAI’s image generation tool in ChatGPT.
In accordance with our transparency principle, we disclose how AI tools contributed to the work and who takes human responsibility for the result. The image was generated from a written concept developed with AI assistance and selected by Paul-Lukas Hertz.
This is a conceptual illustration, not a record of an actual event.
01 / THE PROBLEM
More content. The same human attention.
AI can expand what people create, understand and communicate. It can also enable automated content farming that earns money while consuming attention, energy, storage and bandwidth.
At its least harmful, this creates noise. At its worst, it creates fabricated history, synthetic testimony and false expertise.
Our question: who meaningfully stands behind what we see?
02 / HUMAN AUTHORSHIP
AI should extend human agency.
A person chooses what to create, evaluates the evidence and takes responsibility for publication. They can be questioned, challenged and corrected.
AI assistance can support that work. Translation, transcription, accessibility, restoration, research and editing are not automatically incompatible with human authorship.
Where assistance becomes substitution remains an open question. We want to define that boundary together.
Concept and selection: Paul-Lukas Hertz. Created with OpenAI’s image generation tool in ChatGPT.
In accordance with our transparency principle, we disclose how AI tools contributed to the work and who takes human responsibility for the result. The image was generated from a written concept developed with AI assistance and selected by Paul-Lukas Hertz.
This is a conceptual illustration, not a record of an actual event.
03 / PROVENANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY
Make the origins visible.
Media provenance: Where did this image, recording or video come from? What was captured, generated or changed?
Information provenance: Where did this claim come from? What sources support it, and can we examine them?
Human origin does not guarantee truth. Transparent sources and identifiable responsibility matter alongside authorship.
We favour establishing origins over relying on perfect AI detection. Provenance is evidence about a history, not a guarantee of accuracy.
04 / CONSTITUTION V0.1
The principles we start from.
Human agency. People retain meaningful choice and judgment.
Human authorship. A creator meaningfully stands behind the work.
Provenance. Production origins and relevant AI assistance are made visible.
Accountability. Responsibility remains identifiable; questions and corrections are possible.
Information provenance. Factual claims make their sources accessible.
These are the starting principles of Constitution V0.1. Human Layer is not an anti-AI movement or a technological purity test.
05 / PROJECT STATUS
People first. A platform later.
This is Phase Zero: an idea in public, an invitation to discuss it and a search for serious collaborators.
A curated video platform may follow if a community and the right expertise emerge. Creator verification, Content Credentials and source cards are possible approaches to explore, not features we already offer.
Our first milestone is approximately five serious contributors, including technical experience, interested creators and expertise beyond our own perspective.
06 / OPEN QUESTIONS
Questions worth keeping open.
Is AI-assisted work welcome?
Yes. The central questions are meaningful human agency, transparency and responsibility.
Does “human” mean trustworthy?
No. Humans can mislead too. Evidence, sourcing and correction still matter.
Can I upload videos here?
Not yet. We are gathering people and testing the idea before building a platform.
Where does discussion happen?
For now, through direct contact below. A small shared discussion space is a next step, not an existing forum.
07 / GET INVOLVED
Help shape the human layer.
We are looking for creators, developers, journalists, historians, researchers and people experienced in provenance, moderation or Trust & Safety.
Tell us what draws you to the idea, what you would challenge and what you could contribute. Thoughtful criticism is welcome.
Use the form below to start a conversation. It sends a private message to the studio.