Summary and Highlights from the Showcase
Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and social/cultural platforms are rapidly transforming the arts and culture sector. To explore these shifts, Dr. James W. Riley, principal investigator of the blackbox Lab at the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard Business School, in collaboration with the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard Law School, and Dr. Aymar Jean Escoffery of Northwestern University and Reparative Media Projects, and Falona Joy of Joy Media, convened a special session on Public Interest Technology (PIT). This gathering brought together leading funders, technologists, researchers, and cultural innovators to examine how technology can advance equity, inclusivity, and community-centered storytelling in historically marginalized spaces.
The event began with a series of lightning demos, highlighting five public interest tech projects: Afro-Atlantica and GRIOT, which utilize XR to engage with African heritage in digital collections; ChatBlackGPT, an AI tool delivering culturally informed insights on Black identity; BlackSky, a decentralized social media ecosystem prioritizing safety and data ownership; New_ Public, a design initiative for inclusive digital public spaces; and Open Television (OTV), a streaming platform and incubator for marginalized storytellers in film and television.
A subsequent panel, moderated by Lewis Long, Director and Founder of Long Gallery Harlem, went deeper into the transformative potential of these tools within museums, archives, and other cultural institutions. Panelists discussed how public interest technologies could foster community engagement, education, and reparative storytelling. Highlights from each panelist are shown below.
In closing, a lunch conversation invited participants to engage in an open dialogue about how to support a public interest technology ecosystem. The convening closed with a collective reflection on the future of ethical technology in arts and culture, emphasizing the importance of a shared commitment to reimagining digital spaces.
By centering equity and innovation side by side, the Ethical Tech Showcase offered a hopeful and grounded vision: one where technology is not simply a tool of access, but a vehicle for justice, repair, and cultural transformation.
Dr. Aymar Jean Escoffery on Ancestral Intelligence
Dr. Escoffery argues that the problems with social media are rooted in culture, not just technology, and called for frameworks informed by ancestral knowledge to shape ethical digital systems. He proposes a “solidarity infrastructure” where decentralized platforms are built around shared values like reciprocity, abundance, and liberation. His metaphor of the cookout illustrates a community-guided protocol where inclusion is intentional and meaningful.
Falona Joy and Craig Stevens on Storytelling and Technology
In this clip, Falona Joy introduces GRIOT and Afro-Atlantica, platforms that use XR and photogrammetry to transform museum catalogs and heritage objects into immersive storytelling experiences. She speaks about reimagining museums as sites of joy, empathy, and radical accessibility, particularly for Black communities. Her work is grounded in an ethic of cultural repair, envisioning technology as a bridge between dispersed histories and present-day audiences. Craig Stevens then explains the tech undergirding these platforms, elucidating what lies behind the vision and product.
Elijah McKinnon on Intersectional and Decentralized Storytelling
Elijah McKinnon (they/ them) critiques the entertainment industry’s reliance on vanity metrics and emphasizes the need for a narrative infrastructure that values community, responsiveness, and intersectionality. Through OTV, McKinnon aims to build a sustainable, audience-funded model for producing diverse media content. They underscored the vast, untapped potential of indie film audiences and the power of decentralized content ownership to shift cultural narratives.
Erin Reddick on Centering Black History and Experience in AI
Erin Reddick founded ChatBlackGPT to address racial bias in mainstream AI systems and offer a generative tool informed by Black history and lived experience. Drawing from her tech industry background, she emphasizes community-involved development and transparency, using accessible metaphors to explain AI and build trust. Her goal is to democratize knowledge access and create culturally affirming tools for public good.
Rudy Fraser on Platform Sovereignty Beyond Mainstream Tech
Rudy Fraser built BlackSky as a decentralized digital community rooted in mutual aid, with 1.5 million users engaging through curated feeds and user-owned data. He stresses the importance of familiar, intuitive design (skeuomorphism) and small-scale moderation to ensure accessibility and safety. BlackSky prioritizes open-source governance and digital sovereignty, aiming to scale beyond any single platform by centering community needs above traditional platform logic.
Jeremy Knight on Designing Healthier Digital Spaces
Jeremy Knight presents New_ Public’s vision of digital spaces designed like civic commons — built to support belonging, safety, and dialogue. The team’s initiatives include “civil signals” to measure healthy discourse and “community stewards” who serve as trusted facilitators online. They are actively co-creating platforms with local leaders in small communities, starting with pilot sites in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and scaling based on local values and input.
Please see candid photos from the event below:
