About Techtonic Justice
TechTonic Justice is a multidimensional, community-based effort to strengthen local justice movements and build long-term power among the people and communities that AI is leaving behind.
Vision
TechTonic Justice envisions a world rooted in justice for the people AI is leaving behind. We all have the power to decide whether AI is used as a tool to promote – rather than undermine – our civil rights and liberties, access to opportunity, and our fundamental human needs.
When we invest at the ground-level and mobilize those working directly within impacted communities, we can leverage our collective power to resist automated outcomes and create a future where all communities thrive.
What We Do
TechTonic Justice is here to build long-term power among the people and communities that AI leaves behind. We strengthen local justice movements by working alongside community partners and frontline advocates to ensure those at the ground-level are able to effectively respond to complex AI harms and organize against their use – both today and in the future.
How We Do It
TechTonic Justice believes that each of us should have the power to decide where we live, work, and learn. Yet, across government and industry, AI is used to determine our ability to access fundamental human needs, such as health care, housing, and economic opportunity. At TechTonic Justice, we work to bring community organizing and litigation strategies together to ensure those working at the ground-level understand how to identify, investigate, and resist AI, automated decision-making, and related technologies.
Our multidimensional approach is rooted in building the capacity of legal aid programs and frontline advocates to strengthen their ability to protect the people they serve, spread that knowledge to community members, and activate local movements to advance justice for those that AI is leaving behind.
Training: AI works in the background to make decisions about fundamental aspects of our lives, often leading to unjust outcomes for low-income people who lack the resources needed to fight back. As frontline legal defenders representing communities across the country for free, legal aid programs provide critical support to people impacted by AI harms. TechTonic Justice trains legal aid programs to equip them with the necessary skills, tools, and expertise to successfully litigate and otherwise advocate against current, emerging, and future AI harms.
Community Education: Advocates and service providers work at the ground-level to support and advance justice in their communities. As AI creeps into all key areas of our lives, it is more important than ever that frontline advocates and organizations have an understanding of how these tools exacerbate the systemic harms they are working to address. In addition to training, TechTonic Justice creates accessible opportunities and resources to improve awareness and understanding of AI, how and where it’s used, and the impact it has on communities to ensure those working on the ground can effectively respond, mobilize communities, and organize against unjust AI systems and use-cases.
Direct Technical Support: With direct experience fighting back – and winning – against AI harms and unjust automated decision-making outcomes, TechTonic Justice leverages our legal and technological expertise to support legal aid programs, frontline advocates, and community members in their work to litigate, educate, and organize against the use of AI tools. This includes support with litigation, education materials or resources, and community mobilization or activation strategies.
Infusing Public Discourse with Ground-Level Perspective: Policy discussions about AI accountability often lack the participation of people most harmed by these technologies and their advocates. TechTonic Justice will bridge this gap by using our ground-level expertise and connections to ensure that the affected communities and their allies have a greater say in AI policy proposals.