ALL TECH IS HUMAN RECEIVES OVER $650K IN GRANT FUNDING TO GROW THE RESPONSIBLE TECH PIPELINE & UNITE A DIVERSE RANGE OF STAKEHOLDERS
The non-profit All Tech Is Human is announcing over $650,000 in funding from the Ford Foundation, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, and the Susan Crown Exchange for its mission of growing the responsible tech pipeline and uniting multiple stakeholders. Additionally, design firm Artefact has provided substantial pro bono services to launch the Responsible Tech Guide site.
For Immediate Release
New York, New York -
All Tech Is Human is proud to announce that it has secured over $650,000 in funding to support the growth of the non-profit in 2022 and beyond, while also allowing it to better execute on the multitude of projects related to building the responsible tech pipeline and better aligning tech with the public interest. All Tech Is Human’s growth and mission is being backed by the Ford Foundation, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Susan Crown Exchange, and Pivotal Ventures, the investment and incubation company created by Melinda French Gates. In addition to these philanthropic grants, Seattle design firm Artefact, which was behind the Tarot Cards of Tech and Ethical Explorer, committed a substantial level of pro bono support to turn its flagship resource, the Responsible Tech Guide, into an impactful site filled with helpful resources for the growing responsible tech and public interest technology communities.
Given the immense concern around how deeply areas like AI and social media impact our civil liberties, wellbeing, and even democracy at large, it is imperative that more of the public is involved in the process of how these technologies are designed, developed, and deployed. All Tech Is Human, founded in 2018 and based in Manhattan with a global audience and lens, has been intentionally designed to bring new voices into the process. “Technology is not just for technologists,” says David Ryan Polgar, founder and director of All Tech Is Human. “Our organization aims to build a better tech future by promoting a culture of knowledge-sharing and collaboration with a multistakeholder, cross-sector community that greatly diversifies the voices involved in the process. Positive tech change requires a conducive environment and pathways for committed individuals to participate, and the generous funding we have received will help us achieve this goal.”
All Tech Is Human specializes in uniting a broad range of stakeholders to tackle these complex topics, along with developing ways to greatly diversify the tech pipeline and inject it with a broad range of disciplines and individuals committed to the public interest. Past participants in their reports and summits have included Aspen Institute, Berkman Klein Center, World Economic Forum, Data & Society, Mozilla, IEEE, DataKind, Center for Humane Technology, IBM, Salesforce, Deloitte, Accenture, the New York Times, Avanade, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, TikTok, Discord, Thoughtworks, Google, the FCC, Roblox, Partnership on AI, Web Foundation, Omidyar Network, the Tony Blair Institute and many more.
The organization has numerous activities related to growing the responsible tech pipeline and uniting a diverse range of stakeholders, including holding online and in-person gatherings such as its recent Responsible Tech Summit that drew 1222 attendees across 60 countries, running a large Slack group of over 2k members for the community, cultivating large and diverse working groups that release impact reports such as Improving Social Media and The Business Case for AI Ethics, operating the Responsible Tech Job Board for the unique range of roles in the field, developing a pilot mentorship program that will be expanded in 2022, and launching a Responsible Tech University Ambassadors program with representatives from 60 universities. The organization’s flagship resource is its Responsible Tech Guide, launched in September 2020 (regularly updated) as a PDF that quickly turned into the go-to resource for understanding the people, organizations, and ideas of the nascent responsible tech movement.
The funding that All Tech Is Human has received will allow the organization to make additional hires in early 2022, along with being able to improve and expand their current range of projects. All Tech Is Human will be hosting an online Responsible Tech University Summit on December 1. In addition, the organization currently has a 150-person working group exploring the concept of HX (Human Experience) and ways to better align digital spaces with ideal human experiences, which will be releasing a report in late January 2022.
Our tech future is too important to not have greater participation in the process, and All Tech Is Human’s expansion as an impactful non-profit will help blaze pathways for new voices and better align technology with the public interest.
"In today’s world, power and control of technology rests in too few hands. We now have the opportunity and moral responsibility to put AI and data tools into the right hands to solve the global challenges we face together. All Tech Is Human is uniting stakeholders across civil society, education, government, and the private sector to co-create a future for all of us. We are proud to be supporters, collaborators, and allies in this work."- Vilas Dhar, President, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
"Aspiring responsible technologists, activists, researchers, artists, journalists and more are flocking to the field of public interest technology. As the field grows, it is essential to establish communities and networks that help to make relevant career pathways visible and viable across sectors. This ecosystem-building work has never been more crucial, and Ford Foundation is proud to support All Tech Is Human's efforts to convene, curate, and connect public interest technologists of all kinds." -Jenny Toomey, International Director of Technology and Society at the Ford Foundation
“It’s never been more important to connect the emerging coalition of individuals, organizations, and sectors that cares deeply about the way technology impacts the lived experiences of youth. As a connector, convener, and champion for a more positive and equitable Digital Age, All Tech Is Human plays a central role in this effort.” - Kevin Connors, Senior Director at Susan Crown Exchange
“Everyone at Artefact believes in design's power to create preferable futures, where communities strengthen how we live, work, and thrive. Partnering with All Tech Is Human on their Responsible Tech Guide, allowed us to share our vision of a technology community that is focused on positive impact. We're proud to partner with All Tech Is Human and continue to show the potential of design." - Matthew Jordan, Partner and Executive Creative Director at Artefact
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All Tech Is Human is committed to building the Responsible Tech pipeline; making it more diverse, multidisciplinary, and aligned with the public interest. All Tech Is Human is a project of the Hopewell Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity. The Hopewell Fund hosts and incubates new and innovative public interest projects and grant-making programs. AllTechIsHuman.org
Media Requests: Please reach out to Rebekah Tweed at rebekah@alltechishuman.org
Interviews about All Tech Is Human and their growth plans for 2022 can be set up with Founder and Director David Ryan Polgar (background site, video, recent profile), along with Vilas Dhar (President, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation) about the important work being done by All Tech Is Human.
