Tackling Thorny Tech & Society Issues
Upcoming livestream, video from Karen Hao talk, gatherings in Brooklyn, DC, and London, and How to Build a Career in Responsible AI
🤝Bringing people together, whether virtually or in person, energizes us as an organization. We deeply believe that in a time when society is faced with knotty, complex tech & society issues, it is essential to have a vibrant and cohesive Responsible Tech ecosystem.
That happens with relationships.
In today’s newsletter, you’ll read about numerous ways that you can connect with and learn from others. It’s a collective approach to co-creating a better tech future. We hope that you can join our upcoming livestream on AI & Death, along with watching our recent conversation with Karen Hao (author of Empire of AI). We are also getting ready for our gatherings in Washington, DC (The Future of Trust & Safety), two in London (Online Safety, and AI Assurance), and two in NYC )Responsible Tech Mixer happening in Brooklyn, and partnering on a gathering with Douglas Rushkoff.)
We also put out a resource on How to Build a Career in Responsible AI, along with decoding job listings in Responsible AI.
Now, onto the newsletter! 👇
📕Empire of AI is now a New York Times bestseller; watch our convo w/ author Karen Hao
We had a wonderful 45-minute conversation with Karen Hao this past Friday. Karen is the author of the much-discussed new release, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI. She talked with our Executive Director, Rebekah Tweed, as part of our regular livestream series.
If you haven’t picked up your copy of Empire of AI, we highly recommend it. This book is a call to action that offers the inside story of OpenAI as a lens for understanding this moment: the tech elite's extraordinary seizure of power and its threat to democracy. We couldn't agree more that, as Karen pointed out, technology is a product of human choices. Our tech future is not predetermined; it is being decided (that's why we're called All Tech Is Human).
📷Here is a picture of All Tech Is Human’s Sherine Kazim holding her copy.
📚Do you have a favorite Responsible Tech book? Our organization is currently putting together our annual Responsible Tech Summer Reading List and would love your nominations.
If you like Black Mirror, you’ll want to tune into our livestream on Death & AI on June 6
Here at All Tech Is Human, we use both the head and the heart. We recognize that technology deeply impacts every facet of our lives, and even death.
We hope you can join Founder & President David Ryan Polgar in an upcoming discussion with Dr. Dylan Thomas Doyle-Burke. You may remember Dylan as one half of The Radical AI Podcast.
🗣️Let’s talk about the future of Trust & Safety
200 leaders across the tech industry, civil society, academia, and government will convene on June 4 for two panels and a networking reception from 6:00 - 9:00 pm at Union Stage in Washington, DC. Our first panel, featuring Katie Harbath (Founder and CEO, Anchor Change), Aliya Bhatia (Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Democracy and Technology), Joy Park (Senior Policy Lead, Google), and All Tech Is Human’s Sandra Khalil, will delve into the current state of the Trust and Safety landscape.
The second panel, featuring Scott Vlachos (Executive Director, Council for Emerging National Security Affairs), Colleen Mearn (Head of Enforcement and Operations for AI Safeguards, Anthropic), Juliet Shen (Head of Product, ROOST), and Resolver’s Henry Adams, will explore the future trajectory of the Trust and Safety ecosystem.
This upcoming gathering is being done in collaboration with Resolver. Follow the link below to join us for this meaningful gathering of stakeholders committed to strengthening the field of Trust & Safety. Due to high interest and limited capacity, attendance will be curated to ensure a balanced and engaged group. If you have any questions about your attendance, reach out to Sandra Khalil via Slack or email.
😶🌫️Negotiating a Future with AI and Us
In the frenzy to develop and deploy AI, creating space matters. Space to pause, discern what’s unfolding, and then choose how to steer where AI development takes us. On Monday, June 9th, join us at Betaworks in Manhattan for a life demo: an immersive evening where we orient ourselves inside the cultural, cognitive, and emotional shifts AI is already catalyzing (or irritating).
Guided by friend-of-ATIH Douglas Rushkoff and the founders of Andus Labs, the exploration will include:
How AI warps our sense of time, continuity, and coherence
Why perspective, not raw productivity, should guide the next era of work
How leaders, creatives, and communities can make space for considered choices
What, if anything, we must learn about AI in order to intervene on our own behalf
For everyone sensing the ground shift beneath them but unsure how to re-orient, this gathering offers room to make sense of what’s happening, shape what’s to come, and seize the opportunity to put people first.
🗽Responsible Tech Mixer: Brooklyn is happening on June 18th!
We’ve had a lot of requests to hold more Responsible Tech Mixers, our casual gatherings that mix all backgrounds and levels of experience. On Wed, June 18th we will be having our first one in Brooklyn. Join us!
This one is filling up very quickly; we have space for 100 participants for this gathering being held at Fabrik in DUMBO.
🎊We’re returning to Europe and hope that you’ll be there to say hello
We’re nearing capacity (space for 250 people at The Royal Society) for our upcoming gathering in London; if you are focused on advancing online safety, please fill out a request for an invitation.
We have a panel on Safety by Design for the Next Generation: Navigating the Evolution of Child Safety Policy that features Conor Sanchez (Content Policy Manager, Meta), Michael Tunks (Principal - Online Safety, Ofcom), Esther Jaromitski (Global Tech Law Expert). and moderator Charlotte Jee (News Editor, MIT Technology Review). And our panel on The Unseen Risks of AI in Child Safety features John-Orr Hanna (Online Safety Expert), Somaya Alwejdani (Business and Compliance Analyst, PlayStation), and moderator Sandra Khalil (Associate Director, All Tech Is Human).
👋Are you focused on AI Assurance? We’re curating a workshop on July 17 in London
We're holding a curated workshop in London on 17 July with techUK and Trilligent for 60 influential voices from across the Responsible AI and AI assurance ecosystem for a strategic conversation. This Chatham House Rule discussion will focus on sustained engagement and impact, as well as navigating regulatory frameworks for trustworthy and robust AI systems.
Invitations are going out; request a spot here.
💪Let’s strengthen multistakeholder collaboration in Responsible AI!
We had a wonderful and productive gathering last week in collaboration with the Finnish Consulate in New York, where we brought together 75 leaders in Responsible AI. Speakers included Miranda Bogen (Director, AI Governance Lab, Center for Democracy & Technology), Nabiha Syed (Executive Director, Mozilla Foundation), Serena Oduro (Policy Manager, Data & Society), Mala Kumar (Head of Impact, Humane Intelligence), Lucia Velasco (Head of AI Policy, UN Office for Digital & Emerging Technologies), and moderators Rebekah Tweed (Executive Director, All Tech Is Human), and Tatiana Rice (Director, U.S. AI Legislation, Future of Privacy Forum). Welcome remarks were delivered by Ambassador Jarmo Sareva and All Tech Is Human’s David Ryan Polgar.
There will be a write-up of key takeaways and next steps in a future newsletter.
💡 Ways to stay involved after reading today’s newsletter:
We have over 12k people across 109 countries coming together in our large Slack community! (sign in | apply) If you are having trouble getting added, email us and we’ll get you in.
Are you looking for a new role in Responsible Tech? There are hundreds of roles being posted in our Responsible Tech Job Board, posted in our Slack (there is a careers channel), and featured in our new Responsible Tech Careers newsletter.
Are you looking to join a working group? We are currently collecting interest for projects regarding Responsible AI Governance and also AI Companion Chatbots.
Have you read our previous reports? Outside of our annual Responsible Tech Guide, we regularly release topic-specific reports you can find here.
Have an idea for All Tech Is Human? Share it with us. You can read about our mission here.
Would you like to help illuminate pathways for the next generation of Responsible Tech leaders? Share your background story here.
💙Together, we tackle the world’s thorniest tech & society issues
⭐ Our projects & links | Our network | Email us | Donate to ATIH
🦜 Looking to chat with others in Responsible Tech after reading our newsletter? Join the conversations happening on our Slack (sign in | apply).
💪 Are you part of a foundation that wants to support our mission? Reach out directly to David Ryan Polgar to learn about our new Responsible Tech Supporters Network that allows us to provide the relational infrastructure for the ecosystem, produce valuable resources, and create a necessary space for solution-making.
