Summit speakers, Trust & Safety livestream and gathering, and more!
Plus 10 current challenges in AI Governance, and the structural failures that are thwarting Responsible AI development
đWelcome back to All Tech Is Humanâs newsletter, where we focus on bringing together people and ideas to tackle thorny tech & society issues.
In todayâs newsletter, youâll notice a lot of initiatives focused on Trust & Safety and Responsible AI. Weâve spent years cultivating and bringing together both of these communities, as we see the needs and activities naturally intersecting. Fast forward to todayâs most pressing issues, such as problematic relationships with AI companions or the rapid spread of AI-generated harmful material, and the intersection becomes quite apparent. Weâll explore this in detail with our upcoming Responsible Tech Guide arriving October 1. In the meantime, watch or listen to David Ryan Polgar discuss these issues and the reason behind All Tech Is Human on the latest episode of the Safe Space podcast.
Below, youâll read about our upcoming livestream exploring how to build trust between journalists and Trust & Safety professionals, our Trust & Safety gathering in collaboration with Cornell Tech on October 15, and the first batch of speakers announced for our Responsible Tech Summit happening in NYC on October 27. Youâll also read about 10 challenges facing AI Governance, the structural failures that are thwarting Responsible AI development, and issues around Agentic AI.
Over on our Slack (sign in | apply), weâre continuing to see events, jobs, and research being shared and discussed, along with in-person gatherings being launched. Community members in Barcelona, for example, are meeting on September 16 as part of our ATIHx initiative. Community in action is a wonderful thing to see.
Now, onto the newsletter! đ
đWeâre thrilled to announce the first batch of speakers for the Responsible Tech Summit
This yearâs Responsible Tech Summit has a theme of centering humanity in our tech future, which is why we have four conversations planned (the role of human agency, prosocial design, AI Governance, and AI companions) that will surface important values, tensions, and tradeoffs.
The Responsible Tech Summit is a highly curated gathering for 265 individuals across civil society, government, industry, and academia that is taking place on Monday, October 27, in NYC. Our first batch of invitations is going out next week. If you would like to be considered for participation, please fill out our interest form below.
đAlso, be on the lookout for a pre-summit event on AI & Copyright that will happen in the morning in partnership with the Consulate General of Canada in New York.
đ¤How can we build trust between journalists and Trust & Safety professionals? Join our livestream for a timely discussion!
This livestream will feature Mike Masnick (Founder & CEO of Copia Institute, Techdirt), Cassie Coccaro (Head of Communications, Thorn), and David Ryan Polgar (Founder & President, All Tech Is Human).
Come join us for a 30-minute conversation, where we will explore:
Whatâs changed in the past few years in terms of coverage of Trust & Safety?
Why does the narrative around Trust & Safety matter (for the public, for platforms, and for the professionals themselves)?
How do headlines and framing shape whether Trust & Safety work is seen as proactive, defensive, or reactive?
đŁď¸Weâre having a candid conversation about careers in Trust & Safety
All Tech Is Human has partnered with Cornell Tech for an upcoming 75-person curated Trust & Safety gathering that will include a panel discussion and network. This takes place on October 15 at Cornell Techâs campus on Roosevelt Island in NYC.
For our panel conversation, we will be joined by Zoe Darme (Director, Trust Strategy at Google), Nikhil Jain (M.S. Candidate, AI Governance and Digital Safety at Cornell Tech), Zandy Ring (Head of Trust & Safety at Automattic), and Courtney Nam (Senior Product Director for Trust & Safety at Hinge). This conversation will be moderated by Alexios Mantzarlis (Director of the Security, Trust, and Safety Initiative (SETS) at Cornell Tech).
The Missing Foundation in AI Governance: Building Trust Across Parties
You can think of All Tech Is Human as the hivemind for the Responsible Tech ecosystem. This unique position allows us to naturally understand tensions across a broad range of backgrounds across the globe. For our latest piece of community insight, we pinpointed ten current challenges in AI Governance. This insight was gleaned from feedback from 275 individuals.
The ten current concerns we found were:
Regulatory Lag and Fragmentation
Political Pressures
Global Governance Challenges
Concentration of Power
Accountability Gaps
Individual Harms
Societal Scale Impacts
Complexity Outpacing Governance
Public Engagement and Literacy Gaps
Implementation Gaps
đ Related Resource: We recently collaborated with techUK and Trilligent to put together an AI Assurance workshop in London. Read our summary report, which includes âpractical strategies and next steps for effectively communicating assurance priorities across different audiences in the context of the regulatory frameworks being developed across Europe and globally âfrom executive leadership and investors to journalists, researchers, and policymakers.â
There has been a shift in Responsible Tech hiring, which we dive into here
Deb Donig has spent the last four years studying the evolution of the Responsible Tech workforce, and is seeing a shift that "signals a fundamental retreat from asking âwhat kind of AI systems should we build and why?â toward simply implementing predetermined requirements. What we are witnessing is the premature ossification of certain assumptions and frameworks into technical systems that will operate at massive scale across social, political, cultural, and economic life, all of it without the institutional capacity to deliberate about whether those embedded assumptions serve any coherent vision of human flourishing."
đĄHow do we gather our insight? Through our Responsible Tech Job Board, our large Slack community, and the over 7k people who are part of our talent pool.
What does it take to build inclusive digital marketplaces through thoughtful product strategy and user-centered design?
Join ATIH Associate Director Sandra Khalil, Advisor Theodora Skeadas, Vaishnavi J, and Suzi Ragheb for this important conversation at the Marketplace Risk New York Conference on Wednesday, September 17!
As marketplaces scale globally, they must confront barriers rooted in language, accessibility, identity, and structural inequality. Panelists will explore how specific design choices, features, UI/UX features, and community engagement can foster inclusion while addressing risks such as algorithmic bias and exclusionary defaults, practices, or enforcement.
All Tech Is Human is a proud partner of Marketplace Risk. Interested in attending? The conference welcomes all who are working across the digital platform ecosystem to explore the future of risk, trust & safety, legal and regulatory strategy, or tech innovation. Reach out to Sandra for a complimentary code to attend.
In Case You Missed ItâŚ
đşDid you miss our livestream on Agentic AI? Watch the video above and read an overview of the conversation here, where ATIHâs Sandra Khalil was in conversation with Leah Ferentinos (Strategic Advisor with All Tech Is Human).
đŹDid you see our six areas of concern for AI companions that we gleaned from examining over 130 responses from our community? Read about it here.
đ˝ď¸Weâre busy filming our Responsible AI course, which will arrive in October! We recently posed five questions to RenĂŠe Cummings, the award-winning AI Ethicist and Instructor for the course alongside ATIHâs Rebekah Tweed.
đď¸David Ryan Polgar was interviewed on the Safe Space podcast about his motivation for founding All Tech Is Human and being heavily involved in tackling online harms. Check out the video below, or listen on Apple or Spotify.
đHave you ever thought, âThe one thing missing in my life is an All Tech Is Human t-shirt?â Your life is now complete, as you can now wear your passion for tackling thorny tech & society issues on your sleeve. Doing good and looking good.
đTogether, we tackle the worldâs thorniest tech & society issues
â Our projects & links | Our network | Email us | Donate to ATIH | Our mission
đŚ Looking to chat with others in Responsible Tech after reading our newsletter? Join the conversations happening on our Slack (sign in | apply).
đŞ Are you part of a foundation that wants to support our mission? Reach out directly to David Ryan Polgar and help strengthen the Responsible Tech ecosystem.
