Our Commitment to Humane, Ethical, and Sustainable Tech
At Afectivo, whether we are consulting for a tech-based company, building a new software tool, or mentoring a tech team or individual, the “how” matters just as much to us as the “what”.
In an industry obsessed with speed and disruption, we are taking a moment to pause, breathe and talk about our values. We believe in transparency, and we aim to have an open, honest conversation with our partners and clients about the philosophy that drives our work.
Here is how we are approaching ethics, sustainability, and humanity in technology.
A Humane Approach
We believe that technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. Our philosophy and approaches to run a business are inspired by the Center for Humane Technology initiatives.
We strive to build and recommend technology that benefits society and respects users, rather than exploiting their attention or data. When we consult on a project, we aren’t just looking at the code architecture; we are looking at the human impact too.
Because of it, we don’t engage in any work or contract that entails military or armed use of technology.
AI, Ethics, and the Creator Economy
Artificial Intelligence is a massive part of the technology landscape right now, and we believe AI models should be trained ethically, using training data that is properly licensed.
This stance is personal. With more than two decades spent in the front lines of audio and music, I understand what it means to be a creator. I know the effort that goes into art, and as a company we firmly believe that creators should consent to how their work is used. Because of this, Afectivo is strictly against the use of scraped content for model training.
To solidify this commitment, we have joined three key initiatives:
- The Creators Coalition on AI, standing up for the rights of artists and content creators.
- The Statement on AI Training, standing against the unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI.
- The Superintelligence Statement, advocating for safety and alignment in AI development.
Sustainability in Our Stack (and on Our Desks)
Digital products have a real-world environmental cost. While we can’t eliminate our footprint entirely, we are making conscious choices to minimize it through our vendors and tools:
- Web Hosting: We host with Krystal, a provider known for its commitment to sustainability and 100% green energy.
- Hardware: We use MSI monitors for our workstations because they are certified for sustainability.
- Software & Frameworks: We use the Astro framework for our corporate website and for this blog. Beyond being a joy to code with, its optimizations lead to lighter pages.
- Local AI: Where possible, we leverage AI models like the ones from Mistral and Qwen locally to reduce the energy-intensive reliance on massive, centralized cloud computing for every task.
Partners Who Share Our Vision
We love working with clients who also share our values. A great example of this is our work with Hook Music.
Hook offers an ethically licensed platform for music remixes proving you can innovate in music tech without bypassing artists’ rights. It has been a pleasure to support them as a client and a shared-values partner. You can read more about their recent success and Series A funding here.
Progress, Not Perfection
We want to be transparent: we aren’t getting this perfect from day one. For instance, sourcing ethically licensed data and sustainable hardware can be expensive, and sometimes the options just aren’t available yet.
However, our promise is that we will always aim to choose the ethical route when it is available and when we can afford it. We aspire to improve over time and ensure every decision we make brings us closer to this vision.
What’s Next?
Accountability is key. In our upcoming blog posts, we will be sharing concrete data regarding our carbon footprint measurements.
Does This Resonate with You?
If you are looking for research and development support, innovation consulting, or mentoring services and want to work with a partner who cares about the ethical and sustainable impact of your goals and technology, we would love to hear from you. Contact Us!
— Jorge Garcia (Co-Founder and CEO, Afectivo)