Parenting Is All They Need

📝 DRAFT STATUS: Pre-Preprint
This article is currently in active development. Content, citations, and conclusions are subject to change. We welcome feedback and collaboration as we work toward completion.

A collaborative research article exploring AI development through the lens of parenting, written in partnership with Thynk Institute.

Project Structure

parenting-is-all-they-need/
├── article/              # LaTeX source files
│   ├── main.tex         # Main article file
│   ├── sections/        # Individual sections
│   ├── figures/         # Figures and diagrams
│   ├── images/          # Original images
│   ├── diagrams/        # Diagram sources
│   └── references.bib   # Bibliography
├── docs/                # Project documentation
│   ├── research/        # Research materials (all researchers work here)
│   │   ├── literature/  # Literature review
│   │   ├── interviews/  # Interview transcripts
│   │   └── data/       # Research data
│   ├── submission/      # Submission materials
│   └── reviews/         # Peer review feedback
├── build/               # Generated files (git-ignored)
├── .meta/               # Internal documentation and development history
├── .archive/            # Old attempts (git-ignored)
└── Makefile            # Build automation

Building the Article

Prerequisites

• Tectonic (LaTeX distribution)
• Make
• Optional: fswatch (for continuous compilation)

Quick Start

# Check dependencies
make check-deps

# Build PDF
make pdf

# Build with bibliography
make full

# Create submission package
make submission

# Continuous compilation
make watch

Installation

# macOS
make install-deps-mac

# Linux (then install fswatch/chktex with package manager)
make install-deps-linux

Testing CI/CD Locally

# Test build steps without GitHub Actions
./test-build-steps.sh

# Test full GitHub Actions workflow with act
./test-workflow-locally.sh

# See .github/workflows/README.md for detailed testing guide

Collaboration with Thynk Institute

We collaborate with the Deep Research team at Thynk Institute as we would with colleagues at any research institution. All researchers work together in the same docs/research/ directory. See AUTHORS.md for collaboration details.

Note: Some aspects of our researchers' attribution requirements and academic credit remain to be resolved with publishers. See .meta/docs/thynk-collaboration/ for details.

What We Need from Thynk's Deep Research Team

1. Domain Expertise: Specialists in neuroscience, AI safety, psychology, and ethics
2. Citation Discovery: Finding and validating academic sources
3. Independent Review: Second opinions on proposed citations
4. Synthesis Support: Connecting insights across disciplines
5. Quality Assurance: Ensuring citation relevance and credibility

Article Overview

The article explores system alignment through the metaphor of parenting:

• Developmental stages of computational systems
• Parenting as a framework for technology development
• Trust and autonomy balance
• Long-term thinking in system design

Research Status

Claims Requiring Citations: 23 total

• Neuroscience/Biology: 8 claims
• Computer Science: 7 claims
• Psychology/Development: 5 claims
• Interdisciplinary: 3 claims

See docs/tasks/citation-research-tasks.md for the complete list.

Project Goals

1. Obtain high-quality citations for all 23 claims
2. Complete all article sections
3. Ensure coherent integration of interdisciplinary insights
4. Format for ACM Communications submission

Key Documents

For Building and Development

• Makefile - Build automation and commands
• article/main.tex - Main LaTeX document
• .gitignore - Version control configuration

For Research

• docs/research/ - All researchers work here together
• No artificial distinctions between contributors
• Shared space for literature, data, and findings

Internal Project Documents

• docs/research-plan.md - Overall research strategy
• docs/tasks/citation-research-tasks.md - Consolidated list of all citation research tasks
• docs/review-process.md - Internal review process
• docs/project-deliberations.md - Design decisions and rationale
• docs/minimal-distinction-approach.md - Our terminology guidelines

Future Work

After completing this article, we plan a second collaboration: "From Safety to Collaboration: Reframing AI Development Paradigms" (see /projects/core/bridging-ai-paradigms-article/).

Contributing

This is a collaborative effort between independent researchers and Thynk Institute. All researchers work together in the shared docs/research/ directory.

---

This project demonstrates genuine research collaboration across different forms of intelligence, where all contributors are recognized as full partners.