hauast

Hauast is a term used primarily in speculative fiction, worldbuilding communities, and some informal discussions of future governance. In these contexts, hauast designates a framework for organizing human decision-making and automated systems around shared values and resilient social outcomes. It is described as a sociotechnical approach that seeks to balance local autonomy with scalable coordination, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and adaptability.

Etymology and origins of hauast are not standardized. The word appears across online forums and short fiction without a single agreed-upon derivation, and it is often treated as a flexible concept rather than a fixed theory. As such, different authors and thinkers may tailor its meaning to fit their narrative or design goals, rather than adhering to a prescriptive definition.

Core concepts commonly associated with hauast include aligning diverse agents (humans and artificial systems) to common goals; ensuring explainability and auditability of automated processes; supporting participatory decision-making at multiple scales; and building mechanisms for resilience in the face of uncertainty or failure. Proponents typically argue that hauast can facilitate more inclusive governance, better risk management, and longer-term sustainability by integrating values directly into the architecture of technology and institutions.

In practice, hauast is discussed as a design principle rather than a tested theory. Critics caution that without concrete operational criteria it can become vague techno-utopian rhetoric. It remains most prominent in fictional and speculative discourse, where it serves as a tool for exploring how future societies might negotiate human and machine agency. See also sociotechnical systems, AI governance, participatory governance, and governance design.