How AI Civics Can Build Public Power Over Tech With Data & Society

Join a panel of experts—including Meg Young, Khari Johnson, Sareeta Amrute, Hannah Sassaman, and Justin Hendrix—to explore how to realize a more democratic vision of public interest technology with AI Civics.

This event will take place in person and online at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on the 7th Floor. The livestream will be available HERE the day of the program and remain there afterwards.

The public are not passive users of AI: communities and movements are increasingly working together to steer the course of this consequential technology. Today, more people need the means and capacity to situate, question, and shape how AI is used in their daily lives. What are the civic levers the public can use to exert political power over AI systems and tech platforms? AI civics starts by recognizing the technology not as a skill to be mastered but as a domain of public life — one where people have rights, responsibilities, and avenues for collective action.

Join us to discuss how AI civics can help us meet the moment and realize a more democratic vision of public interest technology. We’ll explore how people are contesting unchecked AI acceleration; how they are challenging the ways AI systems are being pushed into their schools, workplaces, and communities; and how communities can come together to build on these efforts — at a moment when policymakers are starting to listen.

To join the event in person | Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

To view the livestream | Whether you're attending in person or online, you must register with your email address. You will need a device with audio and/or video and an internet/cellular connection to view the livestream.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Justin Hendrix (Moderator) is CEO and Editor of Tech Policy Press, a nonprofit media venture concerned with the intersection of technology and democracy.

Meg Young is the program director of Data & Society’s AI Civics program, working with civic institutions and community-based organizations to deepen public participation in decision-making about how AI is adopted in government, workplaces, and schools.

Khari Johnson is a technology reporter at The Markup, which is part of CalMatters, where he focuses on writing human stories about tech in the public interest, the first tech reporter in the history of the nonprofit newsroom.

Sareeta Amrute is an Associate Professor of Strategic Design and Management at The New School where she uses ethnographic methods to explore how algorithmic technologies and AI systems change and are changed by social relations, especially in global South Asia.

Hannah Sassaman is Executive Director of People’s Tech Project. She is interested in visionary organizing and grassroots leadership as a way to facilitate a movement led by workers, families, poor people, and immigrants in this nation and around the world.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In-Person

• Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue.


• ASL interpretation and real-time captioning (CART) are available upon request. Please submit your request via this form or contact SNFL at least two weeks in advance.


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

Livestream

• ASL interpretation and real-time captioning (CART) also available (see previous).


• Captions and a transcript will be provided.

CONNECT WITH US

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With special thanks to our program partners at Data & Society, an independent nonprofit research and policy institute. Data & Society studies the social, political, and economic implications of data-centric technologies, automation, and AI, and uses that knowledge to inform and shape policy from the ground up. Learn more at datasociety.net.

All programs are subject to change or cancellation. All programs are subject to recording and photography. The 7 Stories Up Series at SNFL is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).