Hawk AI’s Sociological Theory of Wellness
Scholars across disciplines agree that wellness can be defined as any process that heightens human subjective well-being (SWB). SWB is a valid, reliable concept where the subject holistically rates the experience of their body as positive or negative, on some scale decided when the researcher operationalizes the observation. Studies have found these measurements correlate with health, or the bodies’ freedom from pathologies such as physical illness, chronic or acute pain, disease, anxiety, stress, depression, loneliness, or trauma. Every structure or interactive exchange a human engages has some potential to create or hinder wellness. These wellness experiences impact SWB.
Privileged individuals and institutions often imply wellness is an individual responsibility. It is the individual’s choice to smoke, to not exercise, or to eat sugary processed foods. However, sociological approaches would simultaneously consider structural conditions that humans adjust themselves to while in states of survival. Foremost, most US citizens must work for survival, creating a persistent threat to wellness. Individuals trade hours of coercively extracted energy (labor) for dollars, which are then traded for purchasing items—shelter, food, clothing—that will forestall trauma to the body. People unable to do so become homeless or dependent on aid from others, experiencing a constant challenge to wellness.
Under conditions of free market exchange, where every element of social reproduction is distributed through markets, humans have two challenges that must simultaneously be met: 1) they must find an occupation where labor is experienced as choice (i.e. a job one finds enjoyable or challenging), and 2) the time spent laboring must be sufficiently remunerative such that the horizon for trauma is extended further into the future. For example, purchasing a home, a car, and having enough money to pay one’s bills for a few months in the event of unemployment extends the time horizon for stability further into the future than people working minimum wage jobs and splitting rent with 3 others. In other words, the vast majority of people in the United States are locked in a perpetual state of trauma avoidance.
Systematic inequality in the United States creates disparities for accessing resources that prevent trauma. Access to skills, abilities, and resources for gaining desirable occupations are distributed by wealth, raced, and gendered inequalities. Women, and especially women of color, experience higher rates of trauma. Non-traditional sexual orientations create persistent anxiety for people who must manage their identities. Racism creates structural disadvantages leading to higher rates of poverty. Poverty creates persistent stress when food, shelter, and transportation necessities are unreliable in the short term.
No human asked to be born into the conditions of their existence. Hence, every human deserves to be structurally positioned so that wellness dynamics enhance SWB. However, state institutions, such as banks, wage-labor, capital, and private property, create an enormous disparity for people born into families controlling these institutions. Wealth accumulates to these families through state institutions. Humans not born into such families must labor, further enhancing the wealth and power of these institutions. Therefore, by profiting from the labor of existing humans, it is the responsibility of state institutions to redistribute resources that prevent trauma and enhance the potential for human wellness.
Charting a Voyage Through the Digital Depths: A Pragmatic Epistemology for LLM Knowledge Corpus Construction1
Large language models offer the promise of decentralizing access to wellness strategies and challenges, based on the latest scientific evidence. However, the internet as a boundless sea, teeming with information yet often shrouded in the darkness of unchecked claims and unsubstantiated advice – particularly when navigating the critical domain of well-being. However, our concern extends beyond mere misinformation. We acknowledge that information, even when factually accurate, can be harmful or misleading if the underlying context or perspective does not align with the individual needs and experiences of the user. This manifest serves as our charter, a blueprint for building a vessel capable of navigating these depths, guided by a clear epistemology, a defined purpose, and a commitment to embracing the inherent uncertainties of our quest. We, a collective of sociology students, embark on a voyage into the vast and often uncharted ocean of digital knowledge, a journey driven by a shared purpose: to construct a knowledge corpus dedicated to evidence-based wellness strategies for our fellow college students.
Our epistemological foundation is rooted in the rigor of clinical study and peer review. In a world saturated with readily accessible yet often unreliable information, we declare our unwavering commitment to validated knowledge. We believe that true wellness strategies, especially within the demanding context of college life, must be anchored in scientifically robust evidence. This commitment is not merely an academic preference, but a deeply held conviction that those seeking guidance on their well-being deserve access to resources rigorously vetted by the scientific community. In an age where artificial intelligence, as a powerful tool, can both illuminate and obfuscate, our dedication to peer-reviewed research becomes our guiding star, ensuring the knowledge we curate is not just readily available, but demonstrably sound. However, we also recognize that peer-reviewed research, while crucial, represents a specific lens through which wellness is understood. Our corpus will strive to incorporate diverse perspectives and acknowledge the inherent subjectivity of well-being, ensuring that our reliance on scientific rigor does not inadvertently exclude valuable insights from lived experiences and varied cultural contexts.
Our position is one of human-centered advocacy in an increasingly AI-influenced world. We recognize the transformative potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) to process and synthesize vast amounts of information, democratizing access to knowledge and reducing barriers to entry for researchers. LLMs can be invaluable tools for generating ideas and clarifying complex themes, assisting in the initial stages of research and potentially uncovering connections that human researchers might overlook. However, we also acknowledge the valid concerns surrounding the rise of AI. We are acutely aware of the anxieties around the erosion of human agency, the decline in meaningful human connection, and the potential redefinition, perhaps even degradation, of the human experience in the face of unchecked technological advancement. We observe the societal trend toward prioritizing efficiency and data over human well-being and the way in which institutional power, amplified by AI, can further complicate individual autonomy. This amplification can subtly embed institutional biases within seemingly objective information, implicitly defining wellness in ways that may not align with more holistic human perspectives. These are not mere academic observations; they are urgent societal challenges that underscore the critical need for our project. The increasing reliance on AI for advice, support, and even a sense of connection highlights the very real strain on genuine human interaction, a gap our corpus aims to address by promoting human-centered understanding of wellness and critical engagement with barriers to pursuing it.
Therefore, our purpose is to construct a reliable, human-centered wellness knowledge corpus. We aim to create a resource that empowers college students to navigate the complexities of their well-being with confidence, grounded in evidence, and mindful of the potential pitfalls of an over-reliance on purely synthetic solutions. We envision a corpus that acts as a compass, not merely directing students to information, but equipping them with the critical thinking skills necessary to discern valuable insights from the noise of the digital ocean. The LLM will serve as a valuable tool within this process, aiding in the organization and synthesis of information, but the human element – our sociological understanding, our critical analysis, and our commitment to diverse perspectives – will be the true guiding force. We are not building a vessel to replace human navigation but to enhance it, to provide a reliable instrument in a world where the magnetic north of truth can sometimes be obscured by algorithmic currents. We recognize that simply providing information is insufficient; it lacks inherent meaning until a human being interprets and applies it within their own unique context.
Our navigational blueprint for constructing this corpus involves a deliberate and iterative process. We will meticulously chart a course through peer-reviewed journals, clinical guidelines, and established wellness research, focusing specifically on the unique challenges faced by college students. We will leverage the analytical capabilities of LLMs to identify, synthesize, and categorize relevant research, but always with a critical, human lens. Our process will not be solely data-driven; it will be deeply informed by sociological perspectives that recognize wellness as more than just the absence of illness. It encompasses meaning, connection, and control – elements often overlooked in purely data-driven approaches. For example, research on chronically ill individuals demonstrates that well-being can be found through the process of helping others, highlighting the limitations of a purely biomedical definition of wellness. We will prioritize resources that acknowledge the tool vs. agent dichotomy of AI, promoting its use as a support for human well-being rather than a replacement for human agency and understanding. Crucially, our process will actively seek out and incorporate marginalized experiences, ensuring that the perspectives of students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, cultural heritages, and personal histories are represented.
To ensure a robust and relevant corpus, we will implement a participatory “group-in-the-loop” process. This involves a continuous cycle of dialogic oversight, contribution, and critical evaluation. Using parliamentary style, documented discussion, sociology students, guided by faculty, will actively curate the content, ensuring that diverse voices are heard and that the information aligns with the specific needs and contexts of college students. This participatory nature helps mitigate the risk of over-reliance on AI and fosters critical engagement with the information presented. The process will involve students not only identifying and categorizing research, critically analyzing its underlying assumptions, and voting on inclusion to the knowledge corpus.
This project is not simply about building a knowledge resource; it is about reaffirming the value of human-centered knowledge in an age of artificial intelligence. It is about charting a course towards a future where technology serves to enhance, not diminish, human well-being. We must be acutely aware of the dangers posed by algorithms that can subtly shape our understanding of wellness, often prioritizing efficiency and individualistic solutions over holistic and community-based approaches. Our corpus will strive to critically examine these algorithmic influences and offer alternative, human-centered perspectives. Furthermore, we must consider the potential loss of crucial human qualities, such as empathy and nuanced communication, in an increasingly AI-driven world. Our project aims to counteract this by fostering critical thinking and promoting genuine human connection through reliable, contextually relevant wellness information. With this manifesto as our charter, we set sail, ready to navigate the digital depths, guided by our epistemology, driven by our purpose, and committed to the enduring power of human understanding in the quest for wellness. We believe that by thoughtfully curating evidence-based knowledge with a deep understanding of the human context, we can empower college students to thrive in an increasingly complex and technologically mediated world.