What we hope this is for
60–75 · Any group, including youth
Start with purpose, not with tools. If you have not named who this is for, you will argue about features forever.
Opening question
If this technology went well in our community, whose life would be different, and how would we know?
To hold together
- Who do we mean by 'we' when we say our community?
- What would we refuse to trade, even for convenience?
- Where have we already accepted a tool without naming who it serves?
A practice
Go around once. Each person answers the opening question in under a minute. No cross-talk until the circle is finished. Then name, together, one hope and one limit you heard more than once.
Principles to sit beside the facts
Service
Who is served and who benefits are not always the same.
Dignity
Every person is a protagonist, not a data point.
Vision of hope
Purpose before use cases. Act from courage and love, not fear.
Read or watch beforehand
One piece is enough. Save the rest for later.
Kate Crawford
Research professor · USC Annenberg
Maps AI as an extractive industry: minerals, energy, labour, and classification. Atlas of AI is the book most groups can start with.
Ruha Benjamin
Professor of African American studies · Princeton
Race After Technology is the book that lets a group see how ranking and scoring repeat older patterns of who is trusted.