35 UK-based Orgs to Know Ahead of our Tech and Democracy: A Better Tech Future Summit happening in London!
All Tech Is Human is thrilled to host its first international event on 18 April in London. Tech and Democracy: A Better Tech Future Summit will feature 250 guests across various backgrounds and disciplines, two panels (speech and tech policy), brief org presentations, and ample time to mix and knowledge-share on the 68th floor of The Shard! In preparation for our trip, we’ve listed some UK-based (or with strong UK presence) orgs to look out for.
Our summit is proudly supported by Crisp, a Kroll Business.
Check out our full orgs list here. If you know of any additions, we want to hear from you!
“Throughout our journey we’ve trained our AI technology to discover and track the risk signals embedded within digital chatter to be the leading expert in fast, actionable risk intelligence. Today, digital chatter is an essential source of risk intelligence for protecting the global enterprise. We’ve helped digital marketing, communications, trust & safety, security, HR, operations and corporate customers protect their brands, assets and people from reputational damage, security threats and online harms. With Crisp, they are first to know and first to act.”
“We work for digital equality. This means first ensuring everyone, everywhere has access to the web. And, once connected, that they can use it to improve their lives. The World Wide Web Foundation was established in 2009 by Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee to tackle the fundamental obstacles to realising his vision of an open Web available, usable and valuable for everyone. The Web is the most powerful tool for communication in the history of humanity, creating the potential for all people to participate in building a more peaceful and equitable world.” [Based in DC with a strong UK presence]
“Glitch is an award-winning UK charity ending online abuse and championing digital citizenship. We have a particular focus on Black women and marginalised people. Through training, research, workshops and community building, we're building an online world that is safer for all. We focus our effort on four key areas: Awareness, Advocacy, Action and Anchor.”
“The Internet Society promotes and develops the Internet for everyone. ISOC is the organisational home of the IETF and works to promote an open Internet through standards, education, information and research…The Internet Society of England was founded in 1999 and has initiated many prestigious and informative activities and events. The chapter has over 2000 supporters who contribute and learn from each other to make the Internet an open and user centric medium for Everyone.”
@UKIGF
“The UK Internet Governance Forum is the national internet governance forum for the United Kingdom. It is a collaborative partnership that provides a local forum in the UK to engage industry, government, parliament, academia and civil society in debate on Internet Governance issues.
Internet Governance Forums (IGFs) are an initiative led by the United Nations for the discussion of public policy issues relating to the internet. A key distinguishing feature of IGFs is that they are based on the multi-stakeholder model – all sectors of society meet as equals to exchange ideas and discuss best practices.
The purpose of IGFs is to facilitate a common understanding of how to maximise the opportunities of the internet whilst mitigating the risks and challenges that the internet presents.”
“We are a non-profit organisation with a distributed global team of experienced and committed activists, researchers, technologists and community organisers. Our vision is for social justice movements to use technology and data in safe, responsible and strategic ways, while actively mitigating the vulnerabilities created by digital systems. Since 2011 we have supported more than 500 organisations, big and small, from different corners of the globe, through pro bono partnerships and paid consultancies. As a result of our work, humanitarian organisations have reconsidered questionable technologies, more funders are managing grantee data in responsible ways, and many more activist groups have developed robust technical infrastructures and data management practices.”
@WeandAI
“Our mission is to increase the awareness and understanding of AI amongst the general UK population, to enable participation in individual, organisational, or democratic means of securing trustworthy AI. We do this by engaging people with potential risks and rewards of AI, and signposting the different ways in which they can have their voice represented in decisions about its use.”
@ShapeHistory
“Shape History was started out of a belief that the world needed a different type of agency, one that didn't just do social impact, but lived and breathed it. Today, we are a group of thinkers, creators, and digital ninjas; we are change makers, fire starters and movement builders. We are unapologetic believers in the impossible, relentlessly driving towards the SDGs. Fundamentally, we simply want to help social impact leaders and change makers of the world tell their story, and amplify their cause. Since 2015, we've grown in every way - people, geography, partnerships, office pets - but there are a few things that we've always championed to our core that guide our vision, our culture, and our people.”
UCL Leaders
"UCL Leaders is an annual conference facilitating debates on the most pressing issues faced by leaders today and establishing a platform for exchanging ideas between ambitious students and inspiring speakers. It welcomes interdisciplinary panel discussions between industry experts, politicians and leading academics on European and global topics ranging from economics, business, and law to culture and sustainability.”
@UKBlackTech
“UKBT is an organisation managed by specialised professionals, whose main aim is to increase the wealth of its community by promoting the culture of innovation, tech and digital skills. To enable these goals to be met, UKBT stimulates and manages the flow of knowledge and technical insights amongst universities, R&D institutions, companies and markets; it facilitates the creation and growth of tech companies & tech talent through events and spin-off initiatives; and provides other value-added services to the sector.”
@iNetCommission
"Our Mission: To advance digital responsibility through independent evaluation. Our Vision: Joint knowledge sharing and accountability mechanisms enable people and organisations to direct and guide a safer and more trustworthy digital environment, for everyone.”
@Oiioxford
"The Oxford Internet Institute is a multidisciplinary research and teaching department of the University of Oxford, dedicated to the social science of the Internet.
Digital connections are now embedded in almost every aspect of our daily lives, and research on individual and collective behaviour online is crucial to understanding our social, economic and political world.
Research: We have unprecedented access to a huge volume of rich social data, and are developing new theories, concepts and methods to analyse it. About our research.
Teaching: Our Masters and doctoral programmes bring students from all over the world, to work with our faculty at the cutting-edge of their fields. Study at the OII.
Policy: We provide the empirical data and conceptual analysis that is so needed to design policy solutions to societal problems. About our policy work.
Our academic faculty and graduate students are drawn from many different disciplines: we believe this combined approach is essential to tackle society’s ‘big questions’. Together, we aim to positively shape the development of our digital world for the public good.”
@InstituteGC
"Our global team works in more than 20 countries across four continents to support leaders with strategy, policy and delivery. From Covid-19 to the war in Ukraine, the tech revolution to the net-zero transition, our experts and thought leaders provide fresh analysis, practical policy solutions and embedded support in response to the world’s biggest challenges – all driven by the progressive vision and insights of our Executive Chairman Tony Blair.”
@AdaLovelaceInst
"The mission of the Ada Lovelace Institute is to ensure that data and AI work for people and society. We believe that a world where data and AI work for people and society is a world in which the opportunities, benefits and privileges generated by data and AI are justly and equitably distributed and experienced. We recognise the power asymmetries that exist in ethical and legal debates around the development of data-driven technologies, and will represent people in those conversations. We focus not on the types of technologies we want to build, but on the types of societies we want to build. Through research, policy and practice, we aim to ensure that the transformative power of data and AI is used and harnessed in ways that maximise social wellbeing and put technology at the service of humanity.”
@Turinginst
"Our mission is to make great leaps in data science and artificial intelligence research in order to change the world for the better. Research excellence is the foundation of the Institute: the sharpest minds from the data science community investigating the hardest questions. We work with integrity and dedication.”
@GIFCT_official
“The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism brings together the technology industry, government, civil society, and academia to foster collaboration and information-sharing to counter terrorist and violent extremist activity online.”
@GNET_research
“The Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET) is the academic research arm of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) and aims to better understand the ways in which terrorists use technology.”
@UK_SIC
“The UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC), established in 2011, is a leading global partnership helping to make the internet a great and safe place for everyone. We provide support and services to children and young people, adults facing online harms, and professionals working with children. A bridge between Government, industry, law enforcement and society, we are the engine of the online protection landscape in the UK, dealing with both prevention and response. We are unique. Formed of three charities, Childnet, Internet Watch Foundation and SWGfL, we work together to identify threats and harms online and then create and deliver critical advice, resources, education and interventions that help keep children and young people, and adults, safe. We share our best practices across the UK and globally.”
@Accessnow
“Access Now defends and extends the digital rights of users at risk around the world.” [Strong UK presence]
@Demos
“Demos is a champion of people, ideas, and democracy. We bring people together. We bridge divides. We listen and we understand. We are practical about the problems we face, but endlessly optimistic and ambitious about our capacity, together, to overcome them.
At a crossroads in Britain’s history, we need ideas for renewal, reconnection and the restoration of hope. Challenges from populism to climate change remain unsolved, and a technological revolution dawns, but the centre of politics has been intellectually paralysed. Demos will change that. We can counter the impossible promises of the political extremes, and challenge despair – by bringing to life an aspirational narrative about the future of Britain that is rooted in the hopes and ambitions of people from across our country.
Three things make Demos unique:
We listen to people, from all walks of life. We use rigorous research methods, including machine learning and big data, to understand social trends as well as people’s lives and experiences. We get people together to discuss problems and develop solutions, whether that’s in focus groups, citizens juries, or online communities.
We’re authentically cross-party. We’re passionate about ideas and innovation and we believe working across party lines is the way to get things done. And we know you don’t have to be in government to make change: so we’ll also work with social and community leaders, businesses and campaigners to renew Britain.
We innovate and look forward. We believe in the power of change to improve lives and we live by that philosophy. We experiment with new ways of doing research and propose bold policy solutions. We’re looking ahead to the challenges and opportunities of the next decade. We don’t see problems, we see the opportunity to come up with new solutions.
Demos’ dedicated digital research hub has unique insights and expertise across tech policy and its impact on our society, economy and democracy. CASM, in a joint venture with the University of Sussex, has pioneered the use of machine learning to interpret ‘natural language’ big data. This enables Demos to understand people, and conduct social research, at an unparalleled scale.”
@Hate_lab
“HateLab is a global hub for data and insight into hate speech and crime. We use data science methods, including ethical forms of AI, to measure and counter the problem of hate both online and offline. The HateLab Dashboard has been developed by academics with policy and practice partners to provide aggregate trends over time and space. The Dashboard is being piloted within policing, government and civil society organisations. We are funded by grants from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Alfred Landecker Foundation.”
@Ofcom
“We make sure people get the best from their broadband, home phone and mobile services, as well as keeping an eye on TV and radio. We also oversee the universal postal service, which means Royal Mail must deliver and collect letters six days a week, and parcels five days a week, at an affordable and uniform price throughout the UK. We look after the airwaves used by wireless devices like cordless phones, walkie talkies and even some car keys and doorbells. We also help to make sure people don’t get scammed and are protected from bad practices. This is particularly important for vulnerable or older people. Our duties come from Parliament. Our priority is to look after you, and we sometimes do this by promoting competition among companies we regulate. We provide advice and information to thousands of people each year, through our website and call centre. We register complaints from people and businesses, which helps us to take action against firms when they let their customers down. Parliament has not given us powers to resolve people’s complaints about their broadband, home phone or mobile phone. Instead, these can be considered by alternative ‘dispute resolution’ services. We also help to make sure people across the UK are satisfied with what they see and hear on TV and radio, and that programmes reflect the audiences they serve. We consider every complaint we receive from viewers and listeners. Often, we investigate further and we sometimes find broadcasters in breach of our rules. We are independent, and funded by fees paid to us by the companies we regulate.”
@BSRnews
“BSR’s team brings decades’ worth of experience consulting on sustainability with companies across the technology industry, from telecoms to social media, software and network hardware, semiconductor to consumer electronics and climate strategy, scenario analysis, and disclosure.”
@Techvsterrorism
“Tech Against Terrorism is an initiative launched and supported by the United Nations Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (UN CTED) working with the global tech industry to tackle terrorist use of the internet whilst respecting human rights.
Our plan of action revolves around three pillars: outreach, knowledge-sharing, and practical support.
As part of our outreach, we promote constructive working relationships between the tech and government sectors, and organise global workshops and e-learning sessions to conduct in-person training with tech companies.
On knowledge-sharing, we work with the global tech sector to share best practice (policy, guidelines, learning materials, practical workshops, and tools) within the tech industry and across the private, public, and civil society sectors. In this regard, we work closely with the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. In 2017, Tech Against Terrorism launched the Knowledge Sharing Platform, a collection of tool that startups and small tech companies can use to better protect themselves from the terrorist exploitation of their services.
As an inter-disciplinary team consisting of counter-terrorism experts and developers, we offer tech companies practical and operational support to help implement effective mechanisms to respond to terrorist use of the internet. In 2018 we launched the Data Science Network, the world’s first network of experts working on developing and deploying automated solutions to counter terrorist use of smaller tech platforms whilst respecting human rights.”
@AmnestyTech
“Amnesty Tech is a global collective of advocates, hackers, researchers and technologists. We aim to:
Bolster social movements in an age of surveillance
Challenge the systemic threat to our rights posed by the surveillance-based business model of the big tech companies
Ensure accountability in the design and use of new and frontier technologies
Encourage innovative uses of technology to help support our fundamental rights”
@5RightsFound
“5Rights Foundation, the brainchild of Baroness Beeban Kidron, started as a set of principles that would reimagine the digital world as a place children and young people were afforded their existing right to participate in the digital world creatively, knowledgeably and fearlessly.
Endorsed and informed by academics, parents, policy makers, teachers and healthcare professionals, these principles were also shaped by what children and young people told us they needed from the digital world to thrive.
In 2018, 5Rights developed from an idea into an organisation. Now an internationally active non-governmental, non-profit charitable organisation, 5Rights Foundation is headquartered in London with an office in Brussels, which opened in early 2021.
Our annual reports can be found here.“
@OversightBoard
“As its community grew to more than 2 billion people, it became increasingly clear to the Facebook company that it shouldn’t be making so many decisions about speech and online safety on its own. The Oversight Board was created to help Facebook answer some of the most difficult questions around freedom of expression online: what to take down, what to leave up, and why.
The board uses its independent judgment to support people’s right to free expression and ensure those rights are being adequately respected. The board’s decisions to uphold or reverse Facebook’s content decisions will be binding, meaning Facebook will have to implement them, unless doing so could violate the law.”
@CEOPUK
“Supporting you to deliver education and raise awareness of online child abuse and exploitation.”
@techUK
“techUK is the trade association which brings together people, companies and organisations to realise the positive outcomes of what digital technology can achieve. We create a network for innovation and collaboration across business, government and stakeholders to provide a better future for people, society, the economy and the planet.”
@Article19org
“ARTICLE 19 works for a world where all people everywhere can freely express themselves and actively engage in public life without fear of discrimination. We do this by working on two interlocking freedoms: the Freedom to Speak, and the Freedom to Know. When either of these freedoms come under threat, ARTICLE 19 speaks with one voice.”
@DatakindUK
“Our mission is to transform the impact of social change organisations through data science capacity building, for the benefit of the people of the UK and other parts of the world by:
Changing attitudes
Increase understanding of and trust in data science within the social sector, by showing what's possible and how data can be used responsibly
Providing a safe space to test ideas
Working with organisations to explore what might help them, and introducing them to new approaches and tools
Supporting staff
Making sure that data experts in the social sector have access to peer support networks, and working to ensure the number of data scientists in social change organisations continues to grow.”
@CyNamHub
“The primary aim for CyNam (Cyber Cheltenham) is to help create the conditions for local cyber technology innovation. We provide the capability, community and culture to help set small companies on the path towards becoming ‘unicorns’. We see CyNam as orchestrators – bringing together pioneering start-ups with investment, industry and government for wealth creation in the Gloucestershire region.”
@GlobalPartnersD
“Global Partners Digital (GPD) is a social purpose company working to enable a digital environment underpinned by human rights. We do this by making policy spaces and processes more open, inclusive and transparent, and by supporting public interest actors to participate strategically in them. To realise this, we’ve developed an insight-led, participatory approach, centered on monitoring, analysing and shaping the legal and policy landscape relating to digital technologies.”
@WeProtect
“WeProtect Global Alliance brings together governments, the private sector, civil society and international organisations to develop policies and solutions to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse online.
The Alliance relaunched in 2020 as an independent organisation and is the combination of two initiatives:
The European Commission and US Department of Justice’s Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online; and
WePROTECT, established by the UK Government as a global multi-stakeholder response to combating online child sexual abuse.”
@Privacyint
“Governments and corporations are using technology to exploit us. Their abuses of power threaten our freedoms and the very things that make us human. That’s why PI is here: to protect democracy, defend people's dignity, and demand accountability from institutions who breach public trust.”
@ChaynHQ
“Chayn (pronounced ch-en) means “solace” in Urdu.
Chayn is a global nonprofit, run by survivors and allies from around the world, creating resources to support the healing of survivors of gender-based violence. We create open, online resources and services for survivors of abuse that are trauma-informed, intersectional, multi-lingual and feminist.
We flip the design default, and put the experience of marginalised people at the heart of what we do, opening up access to our resources for all. We work across all forms of gender-based violence, especially domestic and sexual violence, and technology-facilitated abuse. We’ve reached 400,000 people across the globe, and reach more every day.
Chayn was started in 2013 by Hera Hussain (you can follow her on twitter on @herahussain). Hera was born in the UK but grew up in Pakistan. She helped two friends from the UK and Pakistan escape abusive marriages and experienced significant challenges in finding the basic information they needed, like their rights and how to cope with trauma. She thought if she could put critical information online in one place and accessible language, it could change lives.”
