Business
11 November, 2025
Making AI more human
A CAIRNS-based tech start-up is aiming to redefine artificial intelligence with the launch of Paloma, described by its founders as the world’s first “Humane Intelligence.”
Co-founded by chief technology officer Andrew Lizzio and Paloma CEO Regina Meyer, Paloma is designed to operate on users’ personal devices rather than centralised servers, with a focus on privacy, sustainability and human values such as compassion and trust.
“The idea came up probably at the beginning of last year … I had concerns about the direction that current AI is taking and that was the driver that inspired me to pull on my 30 years of enterprise architecture … to design a new type of AI that is based on human values like love and compassion and trust and forgiveness,” Mr Lizzio said.
Unlike traditional AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, Paloma’s system functions as a series of “mini-me” AIs that live on individual devices and interact across a global network.
“All of these interactions are like the digital twin of humanity,” Mr Lizzio said.
Ms Meyer highlighted the risks posed by existing centralised AI systems, citing privacy, single points of failure and energy use.
“Data centres today are using exorbitant amounts of energy and potable water … by Paloma actually being decentralised … we are tapping into energy that’s already there, which makes Paloma a lot more sustainable,” she said.
The platform is also designed to reduce inaccuracies, known as hallucinations, through a “swarming system” of small AIs that validate information across a trusted network. Privacy is protected through a technology called structural privacy, which fragments user data so only the user’s AI can reassemble it.
Paloma’s launch includes the HI-5 Grand Challenge, in partnership with James Cook University, offering $6 million in profit-share prizes across six categories to participants who develop AI applications aligned with human values.
“The way that I see diversity being eroded massively… diversity is the fuel for creativity and innovation,” Mr Lizzio said, stressing that Paloma aimed to preserve individual creativity while providing an ethical alternative to large, centralised AI models.
The founders said they were seeking contributors, sponsors and participants for the challenge.
People can register through the Paloma website to take part in the competition or support the start-up’s mission.
Paloma is scheduled for official public launch in 2026, with several preliminary events, kickstarter campaigns and judging rounds leading up to it.
To learn more about Paloma, visit their website: www.bit.ly/494So9P
