Webinars

In this session, we explored how AI is reshaping governance and enabling authoritarian practices. Political leaders are increasingly leveraging digital tools to surveil and control their citizens, while private sector companies are seizing more and more decision-making power over consequential political issues. Meanwhile, emerging technologies are being integrated into life-and-death government powers, such as public service delivery, policing, and warfare.

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In this session, we explored how the rise of consumer-facing AI tools, coupled with a lack of public funding, has pressured schools and colleges to adopt technology as a substitute for essential resources.

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This session focused on what political tools are available to us, what we have learned from policy making efforts thus far, and how to prevent AI policy from being a game of the powerful rather than a meaningful step to protecting peoples’ rights.

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This insight session explored the ways in which AI narrative frames are constructed and who they benefit. Our speakers shared actionable insights on how we can shift the narrative landscape to favour a rights-centred, pragmatic uptake of emerging technologies.

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This session focused on the environmental costs of AI infrastructure and the global resistance to data centers. We covered the ongoing legal battles where local communities are working to prevent the development of data centers — which require large amounts of water and electricity — in areas that already struggle with drought and other forms of environmental degradation. We also explored how AI infrastructure is politicised, and how AI hype is used as a springboard for colonial powers to exploit areas of the world that contain the precious minerals needed to build hardware.

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Our first Learning Lab was Thursday the 23rd of May (8am PDT | 11am EDT | 6pm EAT/GMT) and focused on the AI Supply Chain & Labour. In this session we illustrated how tech companies obfuscate human labour, and lead consumers to believe that it’s all AI and automation.

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This conversation presented the Tech Accountability Criteria Set, developed by Whistle Stop Capital. These criteria were developed after review of 90+ frameworks, guidance documents, and protocols related to governance, human rights, and privacy along with conversations with over 50 experts in tech accountability and human rights issues.

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This conversation presented the Tech Accountability Criteria Set, developed by Whistle Stop Capital. These criteria were developed after review of 90+ frameworks, guidance documents, and protocols related to governance, human rights, and privacy along with conversations with over 50 experts in tech accountability and human rights issues.

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Panelists explored how responsible tech frameworks, ESG(+D) principles, and AI guardrails can be used as tools, alongside shifting incentives and other levers, in building a rights-respecting tech ecosystem. We discussed whether and how these tools can help, their limitations in the AI context, and what else is needed. We focused on the role philanthropy and civil society can play in advancing them.

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Panelists shared how institutional investors shape industries, the tools and data used to make investment decisions, and what’s needed to ensure investors consider human, environmental, and digital rights in investment decisions.

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Discussing scenarios to better understand the possible effects that LLMs might have on upcoming elections.

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The European Union is the first jurisdiction to advance regulation attempting to govern ethical and responsible development and use of artificial intelligence, which could have extraterritorial effects that support accountability strategies in other regions as well.

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A discussion about the White House’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, and the work at the intersection with civil rights and voting.

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A 101 on LLMs/GAI to help explain what this tech is, what it isn’t, what industry innovations we can anticipate the coming year and how it will affect the broader information ecosystem. They also addressed likely near-term capabilities of LLM and multi-modal systems and the implications for information ecosystems and democratic engagement. 

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In July and August 2023, NetGain and Computer Says Maybe hosted a four webinars — facilitated by Alix Dunn — to provide accessible education opportunities on key topics around large language models and generative AI.

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As face-to-face and public discussions from classrooms to business meetings have been forced to move online exclusively, the substantial increase in traffic is already straining the world’s internet infrastructure. What are the long-term implications of this surging demand? How will the design of the internet change to accommodate the video and other tech platforms that we will increasingly rely on? How will governments and companies manage the surge in traffic and what will it mean for internet shutdowns and censorship? How will this dynamic affect the next range of internet standards meetings which will be taking place virtually for the first time in three decades?

This webinar convened leading experts to understand the changing landscape for internet infrastructure and technology in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Key issues included the responses of telecom providers and technology companies to the recent surge in traffic and the policy reforms and standards needed to adapt to the new demands of a digital society.

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The economic crisis caused by COVID-19 will further strengthen big tech’s hold over the economy and society, without intervention. Already, small businesses and retail outlets across the country are in a free fall as the result of social distancing measures, leaving Amazon to gain an even larger share of the marketplace. Meanwhile, local restaurants struggling to stay in business are now turning to online ordering and delivery apps, like Grubhub, that charge excessive fees and face little to no regulation. In addition, journalism and news outlets also face increasing financial difficulties as ad dollars and subscriptions both decrease, further diminishing revenues, and making them even more dependent upon Facebook, Google, and Apple to provide financial support for their content.

This webinar explored how the influence of big tech and digital platforms in the economy and our society is expanding in the wake of COVID-19, and what governments should do to preserve competition in our markets and protect the public interest in this moment of significant disruption.

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Information disorder surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, in combination with the proliferation of mis/disinformation around the protests against ongoing police brutality, including the murder of George Floyd, has created an unprecedented landscape of digital hate and racialized disinformation. Extremists have capitalized on COVID-19 uncertainty, leveraging white racial resentment about the economy, unemployment, public health, and an uncertain future to stoke chaos and violence. Hateful content and speech across the internet has further fueled xenophobia and racism targeting Asian, Black, and other vulnerable communities. Moreover, social media platforms from Facebook (Instagram, Whatsapp) and Twitter to Google and YouTube, face increased pressure to quickly respond to disinformation, fraud, and online hate. What is the state of protest and COVID-19 related information and news on social media? And what are the platform companies doing to combat racialized disinformation and other harms?

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COVID-19 has further exposed the major gaps in workplace protections and benefits for big tech’s contractors and employees. Amid the pandemic, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ wealth has grown by $24 billion, while frontline Amazon workers who have protested for protective equipment, hazard pay, and expanded sick leave have been fired in retaliation. Although the relief bill that was recently signed will provide short-term support for some workers at Uber, Lyft, Postmates, Instacart, and Amazon, many of these workers are not entitled to workers’ compensation, health care benefits, or sick pay.

This webinar explored the demand for workers protections during COVID-19, as well as the advocacy strategies that are being used – from walk-outs to the demand for the creation of employer generation hardship funds – as well as the long-term goal of permanent protections for workers.

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COVID-19 has exposed the susceptibility of our democratic processes to digital shortcomings, including increasing uncertainty around the ability to carry out free, fair, and safe elections in 2020 as well as the already present challenges of a high tech census. Across the country, advocates and campaigns are also facing a new reality as community education, outreach, and offline mobilization grinds to a halt, and organizations must rely on digital formats to carry out their work plans.

This webinar explored the ways in which our democratic institutions are being forced to adapt quickly to the new environment posed by COVID-19, including digital security threats and other concerns related to civil society moving to exclusively digital formats.

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As millions of homebound professionals, students, and more have become completely dependent on digital technologies to continue their lives and work, digital equity has never been more pressing. 141 million people in the US, nearly 43% of the population, don’t have home internet access at the FCC’s 25 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up broadband definition. While bridging the ‘digital divide’ is now imperative for remote work, education, and telehealth, the recent COVID-19 stimulus act did not address the need for internet access, raising the stakes for future relief bills.

This webinar explored these and other issues and how public interest organizations and advocates are seeking to immediately address the digital divide through campaigns, legislation, and future inclusion in stimulus bills.

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