The Rambam and Why AI “Agency Matters”

After I realized, like most people in content and SEO, that my job going forward would focus on "training the machines and inspiring the humans," I took some time to write a book to help brands stay visible in our new AI-Powered world. More about that in future posts. I’m also launching two new sites that go deeper into this. One will be a knowledge base on AI and Generative SEO, and it’s going to be at Rambam.com, which prompted me to consider what the 12th-century Rambam would think about AI and how we should approach it.

I'm not a religious scholar, and I don't pretend to be an expert in Jewish philosophy. But as a Rambam myself, I've always been drawn to the writings of Moses Maimonides—Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, known simply as Rambam. I even minored in Religion in college and for short time considered becoming a Rabbi. 

Rambam was a philosopher and scholar who balanced faith and reason.

In today's age of AI, his belief that intellect is the most important human faculty is more relevant than ever. It's why we decided to use the Rambam URL for this site, and it's what drives us to approach AI with a commitment to both innovation and responsibility.

Based on what I know and what countless scholars have written, I'm confident Rambam would have a lot to say about this moment in history as artificial intelligence begins to enter every area of our lives and society.

If the Rambam were here today, I think he would urge us to approach AI with agency—reminding us that we have the power to make our own choices, to direct technology, and to take responsibility for how it shapes our lives. He would remind us, as his writings often do, that intellect and reason are not optional. They are essential.

Maimonides lived during a time of turbulence and transformation, moving between Spain, Morocco, and Egypt. He was surrounded by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions as well as ancient secular philosophers, especially Aristotle and Plato. It was also at this time that works by Plato, Aristotle, and other ancient philosophers were translated into Arabic. They had a significant influence on Maimonides. His attempt to harmonize the God of the Bible with philosophical truth was so unique and impactful that it has had a lasting impact on Judaism as well as other religions.

Rambam's most significant philosophical work.

The Guide for the Perplexed, was written to help students navigate the apparent tension between faith and reason. For Rambam, revelation and philosophy were not enemies. They were partners. He believed that God's truth could never contradict human reason, and that faith ungrounded in reason slipped too easily into superstition.

For Rambam, intellect was the highest form of worship. He has been criticized for that, but I think that same balance—faith guided by reason—is relevant to AI. It's exactly the balance we need, and he would want us to have today with AI.

It's why, in my opinion, Agency Matters in the Age of AI, and it would have mattered to Rambam.

AI offers incredible potential: it can expand our creativity, accelerate our work, and enrich our lives. But Rambam would insist that we remain active participants, not passive recipients. I know "agency" is not a word Rambam would have used. In fact, the Oxford English Dictionary states that the first use of the word "agency" in this sense was in the early 1600s, four hundred years after the Rambam's writings changed the world, but I think it captures how he would want us to approach AI perfectly.

Agency means ownership. We should direct AI, rather than let it direct us.

Agency means responsibility. We are accountable for how we use AI and the impact it has on others.

Agency means alignment. AI must be utilized in ways that align with our values, goals, and human purpose.

Agency means enhancement, not replacement. AI should amplify our creativity, not erase it.

In short, Rambam would want us to use AI to think more deeply, not to stop thinking altogether.

If we look at some of the lessons from Rambam's writing, I think the line to today and AI is an easy one. In fact, the Guide for the Perplexed and Mishneh Torah are filled with lessons that resonate with AI:

• Critical thinking: Rambam rejected literal readings of scripture that contradicted reason. Likewise, we should not accept AI's answers at face value but question and interpret them.

• Allegory and more profound meaning: He taught that many texts carry truths beneath the surface. With AI's flood of information, our job is to discern what matters and how it aligns with wisdom, enhancing our intellect.

• Universal access to knowledge: Rambam's Mishneh Torah was designed to make Jewish law accessible to all, not just experts.

• AI offers a similar democratization of learning—but only if we engage and participate with it actively and responsibly.

• Humility about limits: Rambam acknowledged the boundaries of human knowledge.

AI doesn't erase those limits; it simply gives us new tools for inquiry.

Each of these themes points back to the same conclusion: AI should be a partner in our intellectual journey, not a substitute for it. We should approach AI with agency.

Toward the end of The Guide for the Perplexed, Rambam describes people approaching the king's palace. I've read that this is an allegory for God's palace. I think our situation with AI is a modern parallel to "Entering the Palace". In the story, Rambam writes that some never even turn toward it.

The two things that I thought were the most important for how he would want us to use AI are:

1. Those individuals who accept what is in front of them without any thoughts of their own end up further from the palace. Some enter the courtyard, but only a few,

2. The individuals who are guided by reason and wisdom and use their intellect to think for themselves are the only ones who reach the inner chamber.

   
   

If Rambam were alive today, he might include AI as one of the gates to the palace. But the story would be the same. We don't simply gain access to it. We enter by cultivating our intellect, making choices, and using AI as a guide—not as a substitute—for our own judgment.

Those who rely on AI blindly, without any critical thinking, will always remain outside the palace. Those who engage with it thoughtfully and with agency, thinking for themselves and using their intellect to guide their experience with AI, will get closer to wisdom.

Conclusion: I went back and forth, first about using this URL, then about including this article that focuses on Rambam and AI, but I didn't feel I could use the URL or write a site about AI without saying what I believe Rambam Would Urge Today.

The Rambam's life and writings teach us that faith and reason are both essential paths to truth, and that intellect serves as the bridge between them. Applied to our time, I believe Rambam would say:

• AI is a tool, not an oracle.

• Human beings must direct it, not surrender to it.

• True wisdom comes when we use AI to expand our intellect and creativity, not replace them.

• I work with AI all day, every day, and I believe this is our responsibility. AI is not here to think for us. It is here to challenge us to think better.

• IMHO, there is a bigger picture to this, too, and it's a message we need to convey to our coworkers and children: if we all approach AI with agency, we can control it and limit its impact on our lives.

For those of you who read this until the end – THANK YOU! I thought it was interesting, but I’m biased. Thanks - Alan