Civic Tech Field Guide
Sharing knowledge and productively growing the fieldAdjacent Fields > Ethical tech and responsible tech - (264)
While the first generations of tech-for-good work took a solutionist approach to addressing existing problems with new technology, scholars and activists are driving growing awareness of the problems with technology itself. By exposing the negative consequences, intended or otherwise, of tech, these communities draw attention to issues with tech-centric approaches. Not all of the projects here adopt an ethics lens in their work, but we use it here for simplicity's sake.
Suggested reading:
- 10 things we should all demand from Big Tech right now, Vox (2019)
- Technology Ethics in Action: Critical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Edited by Ben Green.
Showing 264 Results
Focus on Features
ColoradoMinimize digital harms through design, a guide for product managers and lawmakers.
Blueprint on Prosocial Tech Design Governance
United States of America (the)This Blueprint on Prosocial Tech Design Governance lays out actionable recommendations for governments, civil society, researchers, and industry to design digital platforms that reduce harm and increase benefit to society
Data Privacy Brazil (DataPrivacyBR)
São PauloOur mission is to promote fundamental rights and values rooted in social justice in the face of contemporary technologies and datafication processes.
Masaar
Egypt (Misr)We are a group of lawyers and technologists interested in enhancing and promoting digital rights and related freedoms in Egypt.
InternetBolivia.org
La Paz, BoliviaOrganización ciudadana para la defensa de derechos digitales y el uso ético del internet en Bolivia
The European Association for Algorithmic Fairness was founded in 2023 with the goal of fostering academic research and industrial implementation of algorithmic fairness of AI applications in the context of Europe and its legislative, societal, and cultural environment.
IA Ciudadana
Barcelona, SpainSomos una coalición de organizaciones que trabajan para defender los derechos humanos en el contexto de las tecnologías digitales.
Aapti Institute
BangaloreWe want an equitable and just digital world where people are empowered to negotiate with technology
Datavoros
Mexico (Estados Unidos Mexicanos)Datávoros is a research project on data collection through mobile applications developed by governments and companies. Their analysis focuses on understanding what data is collected and how, what permissions are requested, and what security and privacy measures are in place. It is built to create accountability and transparency for users.
Participation is by invitation only, based on submission of a statement of interest or proposed talk/poster abstract.
International Association for Safe & Ethical AI (IASEAI)
San Diego, CAEnsuring safe and ethical artificial intelligence is a global challenge. We must work together to achieve it.
Herstory in East Asia
Republic of South Korea (Hanguk or Namhan)We want to show "herstory" in East Asia from local perspectives with a timeline and a map in our local languages, so that people from different regions of East Asia can learn more about the stories and rights women and LGBETQ+ have fought for.
Moedict
Taiwan (T'ai-wan)“Moedict” is an enhanced version of The Mandarin Chinese Dictionary of the Ministry of Education.
Public Spaces Incubator
Austin, TXAn international partnership between six public service media organizations and New_ Public to develop prototypes for digital conversation spaces that offer a healthy forum for connection and increase engagement in civic discourse.
Big Tech M&A Database
AmsterdamThe Big Tech tracker for mergers and acquisitions provides an overview of companies that have been acquired by Big Tech (2019-2025). Search for a merger!
AI Safety Asia (AISA)
Manila, Metro Manila, PhilippinesAI Safety Asia (AISA) is a global non-profit dedicated to the international governance of safe AI by Asia, starting in Southeast Asia.
No Tech For Apartheid is a worker-led campaign of Google and Amazon workers organizing against the companies' $1B Project Nimbus cloud computing contract with the Israeli government and military.
Docs
Western EuropeDocs is the result of a joint effort lead by the French 🇫🇷🥖(DINUM) and German 🇩🇪🥨 governments (ZenDiS).
Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI) is a virtual interdisciplinary research centre at IIT Madras.
School for Poetic Computation (SFPC)
New York CitySchool for Poetic Computation (SFPC) is an experimental school in New York and online founded in 2013. SFPC facilitates the study of art, code, hardware, and critical theory through lenses of decolonization and transformative justice.
CyPurr Collective
New York CityWe’re a small cryptoparty and cat-enthusiast collective. We’ve held digital security workshops all over NYC, including the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, Bluestockings, and more over the years.
The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information - this is not just the Federal Commissioner himself - it is above all a modern data protection supervisory authority.
"GTUACM says it aims to provide a global platform to bargain with tech companies, alongside coordinating collective campaigns and researching occupational health." - The Verge
An open-source Python library designed to assist developers in calculating fairness metrics and assessing bias in machine learning models.
Join the growing No Tech for Apartheid movement and demand that Microsoft live up to its own purported ethical values—by ending its direct and indirect complicity in Israeli apartheid and genocide.
Council on Technology and Social Cohesion
United States of America (the)The Council on Tech and Social Cohesion is catalyzing the field of technology for social cohesion.
AI Education Fact Sheet for 3rd Party Generative AI Tools
Los Angeles, CAA questionnaire for AI vendors hoping to serve Lynwood, CA's school system
Generative AI Accountability Indicators (GAIA)
740 15th Street, N.W., Suite 900 Washington, DC 20005Soon Ranking Digital Rights will release the Generative AI Accountability Scorecard, evaluating major consumer-facing generative AI services’ respect for the human rights to privacy, non-discrimination, freedom of expression, and freedom of information.
The MENA Observatory on Responsible AI is an interdisciplinary platform connecting policy-oriented researchers and innovators, aimed at fostering collaboration and building capacity for responsible data and AI practices.
People vs. Big Tech
BrusselsPeople vs Big Tech is a movement fighting to overturn the predatory business model of giant tech corporations and change the internet for good.
DigiAdGood
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)DigiAdGood seeks to create new digital advertising principles and measurement frameworks that go beyond this and better align human and business goals.
Solar Protocol
Brooklyn, NYThis website is hosted across a network of solar powered servers and is sent to you from whichever server is in the most sunshine.
Bluesky
Seattle, WAWe’re building an open foundation for the social internet so that we can all shape its future.
We propose an alternative platform model that the social fabric an explicit output as well as input. By E. Glen Weyl, Luke Thorburn, Emillie de Keulenaar, Jacob Mchangama, Divya Siddarth, Audrey Tang
No Tech Criminalization in Education (NOTICE)
MinneapolisThe NOTICE Coalition (No Tech Criminalization in Education) is a national network of advocates, researchers and organizers building a movement to end police surveillance in schools and defend youth justice in the digital age.
Humane Intelligence
United States of America (the)Humane Intelligence is a tech nonprofit building a community of practice around algorithmic evaluations.
Current AI
Stanford, CA, USAThrough global collaboration and local action, we’re building a future where open, trustworthy technology serves the public interest.
AI Collaborative
1991 Broadway Street, Suite 200, Redwood City, California 94063Advancing AI in the public interest.
Provides a comprehensive overview of all enforcement authorities and the cases they have taken against online platforms under the Digital Services Act
BuzzFeed Unveils Plan to Take Back the Internet We Love; Company Aims to Disrupt Social Media With a New AI-Driven Platform Built for Creativity and Joy, Not Manipulation or Addiction
Open and accessible tools that put safety back in the hands of the people
Shaping Education for Fairer AI
What To Fix
FranceWe build innovative tools, methodologies, datasets and partnerships to further the diagnosis of systemic risks to internet integrity.
AIForensics
Italy (Italia)AI Forensics is a European non-profit that investigates influential and opaque algorithms.
Free Our Feeds
Washington, DCSave Social Media From Billionaire Capture.
Meta Oversight Board
LondonImproving how Meta treats people and communities around the world
Plattform://Demokratie
Humboldt-Institut Berlin, Invalidenstraße, Berlin, GermanyIm Zentrum steht dabei folgende Frage: Können “Plattformräte” oder andere Institutionen dafür sorgen, dass öffentliche Interessen und demokratische Werte in den Regelsetzungsprozessen von Plattformen berücksichtigt werden?
Government AI Coalition
San Jose, California, USAThe GovAI Coalition went public...publishing a set of deliverables any organization could use to help jumpstart their agency with responsible AI practices.
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Civic Tech Field Guide