Reading about AI is the first step. Doing something about it is the second. The honest truth is that the people building these systems are a tiny fraction of the people affected by them — and right now, most of the decisions are being made by the few. That balance only changes if more of us show up.

This page is a starter kit, not a complete directory. These are organizations and channels I trust, with concrete actions you can take today. None of them require you to be technical, wealthy, or politically affiliated.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

If you can only support one organization, support this one. The EFF has been defending digital rights since 1990 — privacy, free speech, encryption, surveillance reform, and now AI accountability. They’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, top-rated by Charity Navigator since 2013, and they’ve been the leading legal voice in nearly every major digital rights case of the past three decades.

Their current AI work focuses on cutting through the hype to ensure “AI serves people, not power.” That’s the lens you want: not anti-AI, not pro-AI, but pro-human.

• Become a member: supporters.eff.org/donate/join-eff → — Memberships start at small amounts; what matters is having more dues-paying members backing their legal and policy work.
• Read their AI policy positions: eff.org/issues/ai →
• Sign up for Action Center alerts: act.eff.org → — Free email alerts when specific legislation needs public pressure. Takes 30 seconds.

Tell the US government what you think

Federal agencies (FTC, NIST, FCC, Department of Commerce, and others) regularly issue requests for public comment on AI rules and frameworks. Anyone can submit a comment. It becomes part of the official record. Agencies are required to consider it. Most people don’t know this exists.

• The federal comment portal: regulations.gov → — Search for “artificial intelligence” to see open comment dockets. You can submit a personal statement in 5 minutes; you don’t need to be a lawyer.
• NIST AI Risk Management Framework: nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework → — The technical-but-accessible standards work the government uses to evaluate AI systems. NIST publishes drafts for public comment.
• Contact your members of Congress: house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative → and senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm → — A short, personal email or call to a Congressional office actually gets read. Staffers tally constituent input. Be specific: name the bill or the issue, say what you want done, sign with your name and address.

Other organizations worth knowing

Each of these has a different angle on AI. None is perfect; all are serious. Read what they publish, sign their petitions when the issue resonates, donate if their work matches your values.

• Future of Life Institute — Focus on existential and large-scale risks from AI. Publishes the well-known open letters on AI safety. Take action page lists current petitions and policy campaigns.
• Center for AI Safety (CAIS) — Technical AI safety research and policy. Co-authored the 2023 “Statement on AI Risk” signed by hundreds of AI researchers.
• AI Now Institute — Critical research on AI’s social, economic, and labor impacts. Strong on accountability and equity.
• Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) — Established nonprofit working on civil liberties in the digital age, including AI policy.
• ACLU Privacy & Technology — Litigation and advocacy on government AI use, surveillance, and algorithmic discrimination.
• Algorithmic Justice League — Founded by Joy Buolamwini. Focuses on bias in AI systems, particularly facial recognition.

What you can do this week

Civic engagement doesn’t have to be a career change. Here’s a realistic starting point:

1. Sign up for one organization’s alerts. EFF’s Action Center is the simplest. Then when something important is happening, you’ll know.
2. Find your Representative and your two Senators. Save their contact info. You’ll use it eventually.
3. Visit regulations.gov, search “artificial intelligence,” and read one open comment docket all the way through. Just to see what this looks like. You’ll be surprised how plain-English most of it is.
4. Pick one of the organizations above and read their last three blog posts. Different orgs have different views; find the framing that resonates with you.
5. Talk to one other person in your life about something specific you learned. Civic engagement spreads person-to-person, not from headlines.

The Pope’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas argues that we are all “given a section of the wall” to build. Scientists, workers, parents, teachers, citizens. None of us alone is enough. None of us is too small to count.

Have an organization or resource you trust that I should add to this page? Send it to me through the contact information on my Bio page.