AI and Activism: Artificial Intelligence in Social Change

The world constantly evolves, and artificial intelligence in social change is an emerging tool. It’s easy to see how artificial intelligence is becoming part of our lives, and here you can learn how AI and activism mean more impact for your cause.

Spoiler Alert: AI and activism can be a powerful combination, allowing you to be a more effective activist.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is computers thinking for themselves but in a specific way designed by humans. Feed computers tons of data and examples, and they learn to do things based on that data.

We can let computers do what they are good at so we can focus on things we are good at. We understand our thoughts and emotions and how they might impact other people. So far, relationship-building and predicting our behavior are not part of AI’s toolbox.

I have a massive crush on AI. I find it remarkable. Here are some interesting things you can do with it:

• Put in some information about your friends and ask it to provide fun nicknames.
• Tell it how you are feeling and ask for the perfect emoji.
• Tell it to write in the style of a famous author. Okay, that’s fun, but you can also show it your writing style and ask it to write with your voice.
• Tell it to write a story, poem, or song.
• Tell it to create a trivia game for your next party.
• Ask it to create jokes.
• Ask it to help you learn a language.

AI Writes a Poem For Me

I asked AI, specifically Google Gemini (formerly Bard), to write a poem.

Me: Hi Gemini, will you provide me a poem about gardening that I can use in my speech at a master gardener meeting?

Gemini: Absolutely! Here’s a poem about gardening that you can use in your speech to a master gardener meeting:

The Gardener’s Touch

With calloused hands and sun-kissed brows,

We coax life forth, a silent vow.

In fertile soil, a seed we sow,

A promise whispered, soft and low.

The gentle rain, a gift so sweet,

Nurtures the green beneath our feet.

Sunlight’s embrace, a warmth so bright,

Guides tender shoots towards the light.

From fragile stem to vibrant bloom,

A patient heart finds joyful room.

Each blossom bursts, a fragrant sigh,

A masterpiece beneath the sky.

We battle weeds with steady hand,

And mend the wounds across the land.

For in this dance with sun and earth,

We find a peace of gentle worth.

So here’s to you, the masters true,

Who share your wisdom, tried and new.

With every seed, with every bloom,

We paint the world, dispelling gloom.

Gemini delivered this poem in 2 seconds. And it is pretty good. Better than any poetry I could write, for sure.

AI and Activism: Artificial Intelligence in Social Change

The creativity and fun of AI rocks. Let’s apply this to AI and activism.

• Ask for a list of the top hashtags for your topic.
• Give it a bunch of text, and it will summarize it.
• Use it to brainstorm ideas.

Using artificial Intelligence in social change means using its abilities to leverage your impact. Your use of AI can focus on how you want to achieve your goals for change.

In the following section are examples of how you can combine AI and activism.

Use AI on Your Activism Path

My 5-Step Activism Path guides you to becoming a more effective and motivated activist. Here’s how artificial intelligence in social change can help you traverse the 5-step activism path:

1: Find the cause closest to your heart.

• Tell AI to research activism causes and potential solutions.
• Ask AI to help you brainstorm what issues you are most passionate about.
• Tell AI to summarize research on various social issues, their causes, and potential solutions.
• Ask AI to present you with a list of values so you can determine which ones best define your life.

2: Inventory the skills you bring to the activism table.

• Tell AI to help you build a skills inventory.
• Ask AI to help you brainstorm how to apply ordinary skills like cooking and hobbies to your activism.

3: Find the right activism method that aligns with your passion and skills.

• Ask AI to recommend activism methods based on the skills you identified in Step 2.
• Tell AI to analyze your personality and preferred time commitment and suggest suitable activism methods.
• Ask AI to provide real-world examples of activists using different methods.

4: Maximize your impact.

• Tell AI your ideas for activism and research their impact.
• Ask AI to recommend organizations in your cause that need your specific skills.
• Tell AI to help you find a mentor.

5: Set goals and stay motivated.

• Tell AI to help you set achievable and measurable (SMART) goals based on your cause and available time.
• Use AI as your personal wellness coach and get personalized workouts, mindfulness exercises, and stress-relieving coping strategies.

Artificial Intelligence in Social Change Example

I asked four AI programs to provide real-world examples of activists using different activism methods. The AIs are:

1. Groq
2. Gemini
3. Claude
4. ChatGPT

Me: Will you provide 3 real-world examples of activists using different activism methods? I’m interested in hearing about non-traditional methods.

Groq: Certainly! Here are some real-world examples of activists using non-traditional methods of activism:

Artivism: Banksy, a renowned street artist, uses his art to raise awareness about various social and political issues. His works often depict powerful messages about war, poverty, and oppression. By placing his art in public spaces, he reaches a broader audience and encourages dialogue around these topics.

Flash Mobs: Flash mobs are a form of performance art used for activism. They involve a group of people gathering in a public space to perform a coordinated, unexpected action, often for a political or social cause. For example, flash mobs have been used to raise awareness about climate change, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice issues.

Guerrilla Projection: Guerrilla projection is a form of activism that involves projecting messages, images, or videos onto buildings or other structures in public spaces. Activists use this method to bring attention to various social and political issues. For example, Greenpeace has used guerrilla projection to raise awareness about deforestation and climate change.

These non-traditional activism methods showcase the creativity and innovation of activists in bringing attention to social and political issues. By using unconventional tactics, activists can reach broader audiences, challenge the status quo, and inspire change.

Gemini: Absolutely! Here are some real-world examples of activists using creative and non-traditional methods to get their message across:

Street Art and Performances: Activists like Banksy use street art to make powerful social and political statements. The art can be large murals, stencils, or installations, often placed in high-traffic areas to grab attention. Similarly, performance artists use their bodies and actions to raise awareness about issues. For example, the group “The Yes Men” impersonated corporate representatives to expose environmental damage at conferences.

Social Media Campaigns: Social media provides a platform for rapid mobilization and creative expression. The #BlackLivesMatter movement effectively utilized social media to spread awareness of police brutality and racial injustice. Climate change activists have used online challenges and trends to educate the public about environmental issues.

Boycotts with a Twist: Beyond traditional product boycotts, activists have gotten creative. The “Buy Nothing Day” movement encourages people to abstain from all consumer spending for a day to make a statement against excessive consumerism. Similarly, the “Debt Strike” movement mobilizes people to refuse to pay student loans in protest of the high cost of education.

ChatGPT: Certainly! Activism comes in many forms, and non-traditional methods can often be the most creative and impactful. Here are some real-world examples of activists employing unconventional tactics:

Culture Jamming: The Yes Men impersonate representatives of powerful organizations to highlight their unethical practices. For example, they posed as representatives of Dow Chemical to announce a large compensation fund for victims of the Bhopal disaster, drawing attention to Dow’s lack of responsibility for the tragedy.

Tactical Urbanism: In the Parking Day Movement, activists transform parking spaces into mini-parks, temporary art installations, or other public spaces to raise awareness about the need for more pedestrian-friendly urban environments and to reclaim space from cars.

Performative Activism: The Guerrilla Girls are an anonymous group of feminist activist artists who wear gorilla masks in public and use facts, humor, and bold visuals to expose gender and ethnic bias in the art world.

Diversity and Inclusion Activism: Aril Reign started the hashtag campaign #OscarsSoWhite to draw attention to the lack of diversity in the nominations for the Academy Awards, sparking conversations and protests within the entertainment industry and leading to changes in nomination processes.

These examples demonstrate the diverse range of tactics activists use to challenge power structures, raise awareness, and inspire change.

Claude: Certainly, I’d be happy to provide some examples of activists employing non-traditional methods. Here are a few notable instances:

Guerrilla Gardening: In many cities, activists have taken to guerrilla gardening, which involves illegally cultivating gardens or plants on abandoned or neglected public spaces. This is often done to draw attention to issues like food deserts, urban blight, or the need for more green spaces. Groups like Green Guerrillas in New York City have been doing this since the 1970s.

Craftivism: This blends craft and activism, with activists using media like embroidery, knitting, or crocheting to create pieces that make political statements. The Revolutionary Rocks movement involved painting rocks with activist slogans and leaving them in public spaces. Groups like the Pussyhat Project used crafting for the Women’s March.

Planking/Freezing: Activists have used choreographed “frozen” poses in public spaces to draw attention to issues like climate change (Extinction Rebellion) or immigration policies (CIRCA Pinera in Chile).

The key theme is using unconventional, attention-grabbing tactics to raise awareness and make political statements outside of traditional protest methods. Let me know if you need any other examples!

That is cool! You can find inspiration in a few seconds. If you find something interesting, you could continue your journey by asking AI to tell you how to get started with that activism method.

Evaluating AI’s Results

Can I trust these results? I asked each AI to fact-check the results.

Groq pushed back by stating,

“I apologize for any confusion, but as a text-based AI language model, I don’t have the ability to provide direct links within my responses. However, I can suggest the names of organizations, movements, or individuals that you can search for online to find more information. For example, you can look up “The Yes Men,” “Banksy,” “Anonymous,” “flash mobs,” “guerrilla projection,” and “Greenpeace” to find more information and resources related to the non-traditional activism methods I described. Remember to always verify the information you find online with multiple reputable sources to ensure accuracy.”

Gemini provides the results in a green (verified) and orange (needs more research) system. Expanding the down arrows gives you more information, such as a link. Here, one of the statements needs more research.

ChatGPT told me,

“Upon fact-checking, all the examples provided appear to be accurate representations of the respective activist methods and movements.”

These results suggest that Gemini may be more useful if you need links to sources for further research.

Claude replied,

“After reviewing authoritative sources, all of the examples I initially provided of non-traditional activism methods do appear to be factually accurate representations of real-world events and groups.”

Claude also provided me with research links, but I had to ask.

The bottom line is that you should always review and verify information provided by AI.

Artificial Intelligence in Social Change: Applications

In addition to the AI tools I already mentioned, you can find AI-powered apps for the tasks you want to accomplish. You may already be using some of them without realizing they are AI-powered. Helpers such as Canva, Google Maps, and Grammarly are AI-powered. Here are examples of using artificial intelligence in social change.

Advocacy and Communication

AI helps you write letters, blog posts, and speeches. AI targets the right people for your message and personalizes your writing for the recipients. Use it to translate your message into another language. You can identify influential voices to partner with.

Use your social media platforms more effectively with AI’s help so that messages reach the right people at the right time. For example, AI petition platforms can be used to personalize outreach. Or use AI to identify potential supporters for a protest.

Fundraising

Use AI to identify potential donors and suggest fundraising strategies. Suppose you’re looking for ideas for your next fundraising event. In that case, provide information about your organization and past events, and AI will provide ideas. For example,

“Given your organization’s focus on environmental conservation, you might consider a ‘Green Gala’ event. This could include a silent auction of eco-friendly products, a plant-based menu, and a keynote speech from a local environmental scientist.”

Movement Support

Activism can involve administrative tasks like data entry, petition circulation, or scheduling events. Ask AI to automate these processes, freeing you for more complex work.

When you need data for decision-making, AI searches for information, summarizes it, and creates a report.

Ask an AI-powered smartphone app to listen during a meeting and then document and organize the information.

AI and Activism — Friend or Foe?

AI is fabulous. But we must face the fact that with its great power comes drawbacks.

Fact-Check your AI

Using AI means also checking the results carefully. AI is a developing technology, and even MIT says we don’t know exactly how it works. AI use without checking the results can backfire on you.

Recognize that AI can be Biased

AI learns human biases, which we all have, whether we realize it or not. Biases may not be apparent unless you carefully consider the AI’s output. For example, I recently used AI to research feminism for a blog post, and it was obvious that the results left out women of color who were essential to the movement’s history.

Accessibility

Using artificial intelligence in your social change will make your activism work easier. However, remember that not everyone has access to technology, and relying solely on AI tools can risk excluding those already marginalized.

Avoid Using Personal Information

Never, ever put personal information into an AI. And if you are working with others’ personal information, make sure they consent to your use. Also, be transparent about how you will use it.

Moving Forward with AI and Activism

Are you ready to use artificial intelligence in social change? Sign up! Some AI tools are free, others charge a fee, and others have free and upgraded tiers. I suggest you start with one to get a feel for AI and learn how to provide rich prompts to get the information you want. Then, expand your horizons by trying out others.

These are the tools I use (so far–I’m sure I’ll add more.)

• Groq is my favorite for the results it provides. But it is also slower than the others because you sometimes get put in a queue.
• Gemini is good for creating narratives, doing research, and fact-checking.
• ChatGPT 3.5 is the AI I started with, but I found that Gemini and Groq better provide the information I need. However, ChatGPT does a great job of coding-related tasks, like checking HTML on a website page.
• Claude is brand new to me. I only started using it as I wrote this post. I’m intrigued by its ability to upload documents.

Once you’ve had time to try AI, pause and reflect on how it is helping you in your social change. Using AI is a process; you might need to change direction or learn new skills to maximize your results.

Oh, and have fun!