A question I get from students that I don't have a great answer to anymore:
Is there a place where people are discussing building sustainable/public interest/civic projects? As in talking about the challenges they face/sharing tips/recommendations, freely promoting their work to others to get extra eyes on WIP?
About one ask away from starting a discourse for this, but curious if anyone out there has a better answer.
Day 1 of MakeShift 2026 yesterday was intense in the best way possible!
Workshops, installations, debates, demos, people sketching ideas together — all around questions of AI governance, accountability, public infrastructure, usability, and how we make tech systems more understandable in public life.
The showcase last night especially captured the event's energy, with unfinished ideas and people imagining alternatives together.
Now onto Day 2.
MakeShift 2026 starts today in NYC.
Over the next two days we’ll be gathering with designers, researchers, technologists, civic practitioners, artists, and organizers to explore accountability, transparency, participation, and trust in public technologies.
Talks, workshops, installations + public showcase from 4:30 PM today.
📍 School of Visual Arts
Check out the program: https://makeshift2026.dtpr.io/program
Empathy is not a soft extra. It is a warning system.
It tells us where a process is failing before the dashboard does, where people are being lost between forms, platforms, policies, and polite automated replies.
#CivicIntelligence #Empathy #SystemsThinking #DigitalGovernance #HumanCenteredDesign #AlgorithmicGovernance #PublicInterestTech #Ethics #REDefine
We already live inside software.
The Code Beneath the Floorboards is our new series on the digital systems shaping schools, work, public services, democracy, and daily life.
First post: Open Source Is Not Just for Nerds - because open technology is about autonomy, trust, repair, and power.
#OpenSource
#OpenTechnology
#CivicTech
#DigitalSovereignty
#DigitalRights
#PublicInterestTech
#TechForGood
#DigitalDemocracy
Open source is not just for developers. It shapes the software behind schools, public services, businesses, democracy, privacy, and digital sovereignty. This opening essay explains why open technology belongs to everyone.
This week’s newsletter starts with our Civic Innovation Fellows showcase.
Ayela Janjua and Jillian Melough represent the kind of future we are building toward: people who show up, learn how systems work, and put that knowledge in service of their communities.
That work feels urgent as AI tools increasingly shape civic life.
Read more: https://beta.nyc/newsletter-2026-week20
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is one of the most widely recommended security measures.
But what happens when the experience is frustrating or unreliable?
We’re exploring this tradeoff in our latest Polis.
👉 Share your perspective: https://pol.is/8udrjxfbnh
"Users who abandon a security tool early are making a rational judgment — not failing."
Do you agree?
We’re collecting views on how people decide what to keep or drop when it comes to online safety and security tools.
It’s quick to respond via Polis (1-2 minutes).
Share your perspective here 👇 https://pol.is/8buydnccfj
#DigitalSecurity #Usability #PublicInterestTech #DigitalRights #UXdesign
This week in NYC’s #CivicTech: safer streets, public broadband, AI literacy, and civic accountability.
The Stop Super Speeders Act landed in the final state budget. NYC is expanding free Neighborhood Internet in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. And 22 community organizations are preparing to teach intro-to-AI classes across the city.
Plus: public spending oversight, student data privacy, new civic tools, and 13 jobs.
The tech we build for democracy can’t just be well-intentioned — it needs to be strategic.
That's the main takeaway from Matt Stempeck, civic tech researcher and creator of @civictech
A useful perspective, as published in The Indian Express, on moving beyond tools toward long-term, systemic impact.
Definitely worth a read 👇
https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/what-is-civic-tech-matt-stempeck-ai-democracy-interview-10666417/
jpt
Superbloom
Association REDefine
Beta.NYC 