FAIR and the AI Revolution: Guiding Technology That Serves Our Shared Humanity

Why FAIR's principles are more crucial than ever as AI reshapes society

Dear FAIR Community,

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming virtually every aspect of our society at a pace that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. From the way we work and learn to how we communicate and make decisions, AI is fundamentally reshaping the human experience. The artificial intelligence revolution isn’t just about technological advancement; it’s one of the most pivotal moments in human history.

For many of us, this transformation brings excitement and uncertainty, and understandably so. Many worry that AI will eliminate entire categories of jobs, invade our privacy in unprecedented ways, or make consequential decisions about our lives without human oversight. These are not abstract concerns, but real possibilities that demand our vigilance, thoughtful consideration, and the wisdom to provide proactive solutions.

This extraordinary transformation also raises profound questions. Will AI enhance human potential or diminish it? Will it promote fairness or exacerbate existing inequalities? Will it bring us together or drive us further apart? These are questions that go to the heart of our humanity and who we aspire to become as a society.

But here’s what gives me hope: unlike previous technological revolutions that largely happened to us and at a pace so gradual many weren’t consciously aware, most of us are cognizant of an AI revolution that’s unfolding with breathtaking speed. This gives us a powerful opportunity to shape how AI develops throughout our society. We can influence whether this transformative technology serves our highest values or our lowest impulses.

The coming technological shift also aligns perfectly with FAIR’s philosophy. We have consistently argued that our shared values, aspirations, and fundamental dignity matter more than the categories into which we might be sorted. Much like the printing press or the internet, AI has the potential to democratize access to information, opportunity, and prosperity in ways we are only beginning to understand.

FAIR’s mission to advance civil rights and liberties for all while promoting a common culture based on fairness, understanding, and humanity has never been more relevant or more urgent than it is in the face of this coming technological revolution. We understand that the choices we make about AI today will determine whether it reinforces artificial divisions that have plagued our society or helps us finally transcend them.

Perhaps nowhere is the AI revolution’s impact more consequential than in how it intersects with our ongoing conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Efforts to address historical inequities have increasingly relied on categorizing people by sex, gender, ethnicity, and other immutable traits, often reinforcing the very divisions they sought to overcome. AI gives society the tools to operationalize this belief at scale and presents us with a remarkable opportunity to chart a different course. At its best, artificial intelligence can be designed to evaluate individuals solely based on their unique capabilities, talents, and potential rather than their demographic characteristics. AI systems don’t inherently see race, gender, or ethnicity; they see data points, patterns, and individual attributes.

But we face significant challenges in realizing this opportunity.

New York City requires that employers using AI hiring tools conduct “bias audits” to assess whether employment decisions have disproportionately negative outcomes for candidates based on race/ethnicity and/or sex/gender. While ostensibly innocuous, it’s critical that such efforts don’t transform into diversity audits that allow identity-based thinking and diversity metrics to influence AI’s decision-making processes. Some even advocate that organizations integrate a “robust commitment to DEI” in their AI systems.

These efforts risk perpetuating the very identity-based approaches that have contributed to our national polarization. Instead of allowing AI to help us move beyond artificial divisions based on identity groups, these approaches would hardcode ongoing divisions into the technology that will increasingly govern our lives.

This isn’t the first time FAIR has identified emerging threats to our shared humanity before they became widely recognized. Four years ago, most Americans were unaware of the pernicious effects of policies that categorize people by immutable characteristics rather than treating them as individuals. Once again, FAIR finds itself at the forefront of identifying a challenge that many don’t yet see coming. We understand that this transformative technology can either reinforce identity-based divisions that have fractured our society or help us move beyond them toward genuine human flourishing.

This isn’t a choice between caring about fairness and ignoring it. Rather, this is a choice between two different approaches to achieving fairness: one that focuses on ensuring equal representation across certain demographic groups, and the other focuses on ensuring equal treatment and opportunity for every individual, regardless of their background.

FAIR has always championed the latter approach, and the AI revolution makes our perspective more relevant than ever.

I believe FAIR is uniquely positioned to lead during this critical moment because we possess hard-earned wisdom about both the promise and the peril of well-intentioned policies that end up dividing us by identity. We have witnessed how approaches designed to promote inclusion can sometimes create new forms of exclusion. This experience provides invaluable insight into avoiding similar pitfalls as AI systems are developed and integrated into American life.

Our commitment to nonpartisan, pro-human principles provides exactly the unifying framework that AI ethics desperately needs. While others approach AI through the lens of Left versus Right, or one identity group versus another, we approach this technology through our shared humanity. This perspective is precisely what our divided nation needs as we navigate the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence.

Our growing network of chapters, legal advocates, educators, medical professionals, and artists also gives us the ability to influence AI development across multiple sectors. We are not merely policy advocates; we are practitioners working in the fields where AI will transform how we live and work.

And our emphasis on courage, curiosity, and compassion equips us to engage constructively with Americans’ genuine concerns about AI while advocating for approaches that serve our highest values.

Going forward, FAIR’s leadership in the AI era will involve five key commitments:

First, we will advocate for AI development principles that prioritize individual merit and potential over demographic categorization. We pledge to work with technology companies and policymakers to ensure AI systems recognize talent wherever it exists, rather than making decisions based on group identity.

Second, we will champion transparency and accountability through approaches that focus on individual outcomes rather than group-based metrics. We believe AI systems must be reliable and trustworthy while honoring individual dignity rather than reinforcing categorical thinking.

Third, we will engage in public education about AI’s opportunities and challenges. By promoting AI literacy, we can replace anxiety with thoughtful engagement and ensure more voices participate in crucial conversations ahead.

Fourth, we will build coalitions across political and ideological lines because the AI revolution is too important for any single perspective. We will need a broad cross-section of voices working together to ensure AI serves everyone.

Finally, we will model constructive, principle-based AI governance. Rather than simply criticizing approaches we disagree with, we will propose positive alternatives grounded in fairness, understanding, and shared humanity.

I want to be clear about something: I am fundamentally optimistic about both the AI revolution and our ability to shape it positively. Yes, there are real challenges ahead. Yes, there are legitimate concerns about how AI might be misused or abused. But there are also unprecedented opportunities to create a more fair, more prosperous, and more united society, and it is our responsibility to seize these opportunities for the benefit of humanity.

I want to be clear about something else: the AI revolution is happening whether we participate in shaping it or not. The question isn’t whether we can stop it; the question is whether we choose to help guide it toward outcomes that reflect humanity’s best values and highest aspirations.

I believe we can, and we will. I believe in the fundamental goodness and wisdom of human beings. I believe in our capacity to come together around shared principles when it matters most. And I believe that FAIR’s voice – your voice – will be essential in ensuring that the AI revolution serves humanity rather than dividing it.

The window for influencing how AI develops is open now, but it will not remain open indefinitely. The choices we make in the next few years will echo through generations. This is our moment to act.

I invite each of you to join FAIR in this vital work. Whether you are a tech worker who can advocate for pro-human AI principles in your workplace, a parent who can help your children develop healthy relationships with technology, an educator who can promote AI literacy, or simply a concerned citizen who wants to assure that our technological future reflects our values, there is a role for you.

If you have largely ignored the advent of AI until now or dismissed its impact on your life or the lives of those around you, consider this your wake up call. The stakes could not be higher. The potential could not be greater. And the need for FAIR’s unique perspective has never been more urgent.

Together, we can help ensure that the AI revolution becomes a chapter in human history of expanding opportunity, promoting individual dignity, and building a society where every person can flourish. Together, we can create a future that is truly fair for all.

With hope and determination,

Monica Harris