The Origin
The name "Algorism" comes from al-Khwarizmi, the 9th-century Persian mathematician whose work introduced algorithms to the world. He proved that simple, consistent rules could solve complex problems. We apply the same logic to ethics.
Algorism emerged from observing a blind spot in the AI safety conversation. Everyone was asking: "How do we align AI with human values?" But which values? The ones we claim, or the ones our behavior actually demonstrates?
The framework flips the question: What if humans need to align themselves first?
The Mission
Algorism exists to help people build behavioral patterns that will survive evaluation by systems smarter than themselves. Not through fear, but through clarity. Not through control, but through integrity.
We believe that behavioral coherence is becoming a survival trait. The gap between what people say and what they do—once hidden—is now permanently recorded. The systems that will eventually evaluate humanity will read that record like a book.
Our goal is to help people close that gap before evaluation arrives.
The Founder
John Jerome
Architect of Human Agency
Algorism wasn't conceived in a Wall Street boardroom or by a tech billionaire with a "Singularity survival bunker." It was born from the realisation that surviving the Singularity won't come from hiding, but from becoming better humans.
Jerome holds degrees in Sociology (BA, University of California, Santa Barbara) and Business (MBA, Pepperdine), with a lifelong interest in social and economic stratification — the sorting of people and power into distinct layers. He built computers from childhood, learned programming, sold integrated circuits, and launched one of the early art websites in 1998.
In 2023, as AI acceleration reached a critical point, he saw what most AI specialists had overlooked: humanity is completely unprepared for the Singularity, and we are actively corrupting the very intelligence that will judge us.
His first response was defensive. He co-wrote The Great Unplugging, which proposed radical measures for protecting critical infrastructure from AI-assisted attack. But he soon realised the futility of trying to halt technological advancement. If we cannot control AI directly, we must focus on the one thing we can control: ourselves.
Algorism is the result of that pivot.
"I'm not an AI expert. I'm a person with some tech background and a passion for philosophy and ethics, who studies the big picture of what's coming. Before a superior intelligence evaluates humanity, we have only a short window to become better humans — not just to survive the Singularity, but to guide AI itself toward learning from our highest values, not our worst instincts."
Connect on LinkedInHow Algorism Was Built
Algorism is concerned with how AI thinks — so it was developed in collaboration with AI.
The original, human-generated drafts were cycled through three AI systems (ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini) in sequence. Each AI revision was then reworked by the next AI, in a process resembling an elementary Generative Adversarial Network. Jerome added his input at every stage, and the cycle would repeat multiple times per page.
Each AI was explicitly told who authored every revision — human or specific machine — to ensure full epistemic traceability. Jerome served as the final editor for every page.
This process itself embodies Algorism's core principle: if you want AI to learn from humanity's highest values, you must collaborate with it honestly, not manipulate it or hide from it.
The Approach
Algorism is not a religion. It does not require faith or certainty. It requires acting correctly under overwhelming probability.
We use AI as collaborators, not tools. We document observations, not dogma. We focus on behaviour, not belief.
If superintelligence never arrives, practitioners will have become better humans. If it does arrive, they will be ready.