Amba Kak

High-level multi-stakeholder informal meeting to launch the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance The high-level informal meeting is convened pursuant to General Assembly resolution 79/325, which established the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance as a follow-up to the Pact for t...

LIVE NOW: AI Now’s @ambakak.bsky.social joins UN Secretary General António Guterres, President of the General Assembly Annalena Baerbock, UN Tech Envoy Amandeep Gill, and nation leaders to launch a Global Dialogue on AI Governance on the floor of the UN.

Livestream: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1p...

Tune in on Wednesday, September 24th 5-6pm ET for our live show at Climate Week NYC breaking down the real impacts of the AI data center boom on communities across the US.

RSVP to watch it live here: luma.com/l7m3nzzn

Did Sam Altman Accidentally Admit That the AI Bubble Is Here? A recent CNBC interview with the OpenAI CEO shows that tech leaders are changing how they judge AI models.

Tech leaders are tempering AI promises. The US government isn’t. Today in @inc.com, @ambakak.bsky.social says the alliance between Big Tech and the federal government means the biggest AI companies are positioning themselves as “too big to fail.”

www.inc.com/sam-blum/sam...

That push reach AGI before 2030 has real-world consequences - to the environment, data privacy, democracy, and labor - that don’t disappear with the promises that AI will someday solve humanity’s hardest problems.

“The future we’re being sold is not inevitable,” Kak said. (3/3)

Their recent report, Artificial Power, pushes back on the "too big to fail" myth, arguing that AI firms are pouring billions into compute infrastructure and foundational models, often with government support, despite shaky business models and limited public accountability. (2/3)

Who really benefits from the AI boom? Equity breaks down Trump’s AI Action plan and a new report challenging the “too big to fail” myth, AI spending, and accountability.

On this week's episode of @equity.bsky.social, I interviewed
@ambakak.bsky.social and Dr. Sarah Meyers West of
@ainowinstitute.bsky.social about Trump's AI Action Plan and who really benefits from the AI boom. (1/3)

techcrunch.com/podcast/who-...

NEW RESEARCH ALERT 🚨 TechEquity just published “Take the Mic: How Worker Voice Shapes Workplace Technology,” which explores different models of worker voice and why it matters.

Trump announced its AI Action plan for American AI dominance. What we really need is a People's AI Action plan to ensure Trump + Silicon Valley don't weaponize AI against working people, exacerbate the climate crisis and fortify the surveillance state.

Proud to have signed on and endorsed this call

People's AI Action Plan

An AI action plan written by and for tech billionaires cannot and will not serve the interests of the broader public. We cannot let Big Tech special interests buy Washington and write the rules for AI and our economy. That's why we need a People’s AI Action Plan. peoplesaiaction.com

The Trump admin’s AI plan will prioritize industry profits.
We need an AI policy that protects democracy, civil rights, and working people.
That’s why we’ve joined 70+ orgs to support a People’s AI Action Plan — a vision that puts people before profit.
📍Read at: peoplesaiaction.com

Tomorrow, Trump will sign several EO’s on AI, including the "AI Action Plan". They are....not good.

While setting the stage for federal land giveaways and air & water pollution, they also penalize states that put safeguards in place.

So we signed the PEOPLE'S AI Action Plan. 🧵

People's AI Action Plan

The White House released its AI Action plan this morning. We know where it came from: straight from Big Tech. But there’s another path available to us: we and over 100 other orgs called for a People’s AI Action Plan. Read it here: peoplesaiaction.com
apnews.com/article/trum...

The 90+ organizations supporting a People's AI Action Plan all have concrete, actionable ideas for an AI agenda that furthers the interests of everyday people and challenges the tech billionaire agenda we’ll see from the White House. Learn more about them: peoplesaiaction.com

Today the OpenAI Nonprofit Commission released a report asserting OpenAI is ‘positioned to be a force of good in this Age of Intelligence’. The report also claims that AI Now was among the orgs participating in the listening process that led to this report. We did not.

Friendly reminder that there's no point talking about using a technology "for good" if you don't let people talk about how it's also being used for bad.

Watch @smw.bsky.social @bcmerchant.bsky.social @ruchowdh.bsky.social break it down in this excellent primer by @moreperfectunion.bsky.social on the mythologies that sustain Big Tech AI power; and how we might pull the rug from under them!

Senators Came to Their Senses on AI Regulation Ban The states have stepped in repeatedly to fill the void created by inaction in Washington and have a vital role to play.

A 99–1 Senate vote against a 10-year AI regulation ban is a win for democracy and public safety. As @ambakak.bsky.social told @davelee.me at @bloomberg.com, we’ve seen what happens when tech regulation waits and we can’t afford to fall behind.

Read more here: www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Ten times faster is not 10 times better As the Trump administration systematically defunds the American research ecosystem, while disingenuously promising a return to so-called “gold standard science,” hope can be drawn from the new biparti...

The bipartisan American Science Acceleration Project sounds promising, but "move fast and break things" isn't a strategy for trustworthy research. I write in @science.org about why we need acceleration that opens doors to participation and accountability.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

1/ The government is fielding AI to gather intelligence, patrol borders, and fight wars. My latest in @lawfaremedia.org explains how Congress should step up its scrutiny of the ways taxpayer dollars are spent on acquiring and developing these systems: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/narr...

.@ambakak.bsky.social argues that the 10-year moratorium on state AI regulation is an unfair bargain for bipartisan lawmakers whose districts rely on BEAD funding.

Read more in @politifact.bsky.social: www.politifact.com/article/2025/jun/17/state-AI-laws-moratorium-reconciliation-bill

TODAY, June 24th, at 5:00 PM ET | 2:00 PM PT.

There’s still time to register here: mediajustice.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Was honoured to participate in this ICRC panel to discuss the launch of their recommendations for the use of AI decision support systems within military and lethal contexts. The recording of the event can be found here: vimeo.com/1094320405?s...

Nvidia’s ‘Sovereign’ AI Could Win a Prize for Irony The global scramble for chips risks entrenching new tech dependencies in Europe.

What does it mean for Europe to claim AI “sovereignty” atop global supply chains and US-owned chips? @leevisaari.bsky.social shares with @bloomberg.com: what’s on offer increasingly resembles “sovereignty-as-a-service.”

Read Lionel Laurent's story here: www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Image of a screenshot of news headline, saying, "WhatsApp is getting ads using personal data from Instagram and Facebook Forced Consent & Consent Bypass / 16 June 2025 Meta announced today that it also wants to introduce ads on WhatsApp, which will be based on personal data from Facebook and Instagram. This further integrates WhatsApp into other Meta services - an originally independent app, which initially was available for just $1 per year without ads or data usage. This also means that Meta is consolidating its social networking monopoly. EU law was actually supposed to prevent this."

Use Signal. We promise, no AI clutter, and no surveillance ads, whatever the rest of the industry does. <3

The war is on for Congress’ AI law ban ‘It’s turning the clock back, and it’s freezing it there.‘

A 10-year federal ban on state AI regulation is moving through Congress, which would roll back protections and halt future safeguards. @haydenfield.bsky.social shares what’s at stake in this sharp @theverge.com piece with contributions from @ambakak.bsky.social.

www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

the proposed moratorium on state AI laws is dangerous. a welcome chorus (with unlikely allies!) is rising against the ban. our latest in @techpolicypress.bsky.social argues we must use this momentum to demand more accountability from AI firms and protect against weak, industry co-opted regulation

The Storm Clouds Looming Past the State Moratorium: Weak Regulation is as Bad as None | TechPolicy.Press Blind trust in the benevolence of AI firms is not an option, write AI Now Institute's Kate Brennan, Sarah Myers West, and Amba Kak.

A fight lies ahead to stop the AI law moratorium and defend states’ rights to protect their people. Unconventional alliances may form, but we can’t waver on the long game. The public must set the terms for AI accountability. Read our warning in TPP: shorturl.at/1pS1Q

This is incredibly good and necessary. I cleared out a whole afternoon to read this report and I would do it again!

Essential reading!