Leap of Leadership
Community meet-ups with Spring Co-CEO Archana Deshpande
April 22—Mythbusting AI narratives and reclaiming agency with Zara Rahman
1 PM UTC | 6 AM San Francisco | 9 AM Toronto | 2 PM London | 8 PM Jakarta (Find your time zone)
Is artificial intelligence (AI) really an inevitable phenomenon, or just Silicon Valley marketing hype? What possibilities lie beyond mainstream narratives?
At this month’s Leap of Leadership workshop we’re joined by tech-for-justice whiz Zara Rahman of Superrr to demystify what AI is (and is not), as well as why we have more power than we think to use technologies in ways that align with our values and humanity.
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In this candid exploration, Zara will pull back the curtain on what’s happening behind-the-scenes in tech so we can move forward with more intention in our leadership.
AI is rapidly reshaping parts of the global economy, but the narratives about it can be misleading. Most of us in social and climate justice are working at the “speed of need”: providing urgently needed services, advocating tirelessly for better laws, and holding the line against life-threatening oppression. Yet, there are those in the AI industry who are moving at the “speed of greed”, with business models built on narratives that sell AI as inevitable to the future of work. The fear of missing out (FOMO) can make it feel like adopting AI solutions is the only option.
But the future of AI at work isn’t about which chatbot you should use—or whether you should use one at all. It’s about choices that are deeper, more personal and more strategic than that. How can you cultivate the awareness and agency that will strengthen the future you're trying to build? What could AI (and our use of tech in general) look like if it respected planetary boundaries and human rights?
Remember, AI encompasses predictive models built by humans and trained on artifacts (and biases) from our past. But a just future isn’t a predictable one. As the Superr team writes, “We want to dream and imagine … We are and we want the improbable.” So, bring your burning questions and algorithmic imagination, and come be improbable with us!
Meet Zara
Zara Rahman is a British-Bangladeshi author and researcher whose interests lie at the intersection of power, technology and justice. She is the author of Machine Readable Me: The Hidden Ways Tech Shapes Our Identities, which builds upon over a decade of research on how data about who we are is used to shape the paths available to us in life. She is currently the Managing Director at Superrr, a feminist non-profit challenging the power dynamics in the tech sector by reimagining what just and inclusive futures might look like and how to turn them into realities.
Previously, Zara was part of the Executive Leadership team at The Engine Room, an international non-profit organisation strengthening the fight for social justice by supporting civil society to use technology and data in strategic, effective and responsible ways. She has held fellowships at Stanford University and the Harvard Kennedy School, and Data & Society. Learn more about Zara here, and sign up for her newsletter.
Archana Deshpande
Archana Deshpande is the host of Leap of Leadership, Spring Co-CEO and a multilingual, creative rights advocate, strategist, facilitator and Integral Master Coach™. She believes major strides towards justice, life-giving societal change and liberation are possible through the cultivation of generosity, presence, strong communities along with intentional actions.
Previously, Archana led the creation and expansion of OpenGlobalRights — a multilingual, global forum that explores human rights policies and strategies as well as managed and conducted research on human rights organizations and public perceptions of human rights in India, Mexico, and Morocco. She has co-authored various publications on the resource mobilization challenges and opportunities for human rights groups in the Global South and is passionate about finding innovative ways to sustain and expand social and climate justice initiatives.
Archana holds a master's degree in International Affairs and is an accredited Integral Master Coach™. She is based in Toronto, Canada, and speaks English, Spanish, French, and Gujarat. She gets her creative juices flowing through dancing with her daughter, painting, and singing.
Learn more about her on our About Us page!
