How can we learn from the tools emerging in AI—especially structured protocols like A2A—and apply those lessons to strengthen the systems we humans already run: our civic programs, public institutions, mutual aid networks, and local services?
What follows is an overview of the A2A Human-Aligned Extension, a proposal to extend Google’s Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol by introducing structures that reflect the roles, responsibilities, and character of human organization agents—since many of the same coordination challenges appear across both human and digital ecosystems.
We see value in applying lessons from and contributing to the evolution of protocols like A2A to support shared understanding and structured engagement among human organizations—without prescribing how they must operate.
We invite feedback from technologists, civic leaders, policy researchers, and community members.
What This Extension Proposes to Add
The A2A Human-Aligned Extension GitHub repository proposes to add structured metadata and semantic framing elements designed to make human programs and institutions more legible, discoverable, and interoperable within broader agent-based systems:
- ProgramCard — a structure for representing real-world programs with goals, offerings, and contextual metadata.
- ParticipationTemplate — a structured way to describe how people or organizations can engage, contribute, or replicate a program.
- operating_character — a metadata block to declare values, governance tendencies, and communication styles, using frameworks like Spiral Dynamics, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, or the Discovery Insights communication framework.
These proposed additions build on A2A’s foundation, extending its utility beyond digital agents by offering structured, interpretable descriptions of human-centered work.
Why This Matters
There remains a widespread absence of shared infrastructure for describing community-benefiting efforts—such as civic services, nonprofit initiatives, and mutual aid programs—in ways that support cross-organizational understanding, volunteer engagement, and clarity for funders and donors. By adopting a common structure:
- Programs become more discoverable and transparent.
- Participation becomes easier to invite, structure, and sustain.
- Diverse actors can self-align around shared goals without requiring centralized orchestration.
The aim is to draw on the lessons of structured interoperability from the AI world—where protocols are explicit and interfaces are designed for clarity—to support civic and social initiatives in representing themselves to peers, participants, funders, and digital systems with similar precision and accessibility, without reducing their human character.
Read and Respond
You can read the full draft specification here:
👉 Extending-A2A-Human.md
We welcome feedback, critique, and discussion.
How to Contribute
We are currently seeking:
- Feedback on draft conceptual models and proposed metadata structures
- Suggestions for civic or nonprofit pilot applications
- Collaborations with public interest technologists and community orgs
This is a versioned, evolving draft (v0.1.3 as of June 2025). Comments and issues can be submitted via GitHub:
👉 github.com/team-earth/a2a-human-extension
Kevin Kells
Project Lead, Team Earth, GOSR
team.earth/contact