We’re thrilled to offer this workshop for SXSW EDU 2026!

AI is advancing faster than it’s being thoughtfully designed, raising critical questions about who shapes it and who it truly serves. Based on a workshop with the Innovators for Purpose community program in Cambridge, MA, explore who holds power in AI development and how to have a voice in creating AI that’s more inclusive, ethical, and aligned with societal needs. Through hands-on activities, discussion, and student AI activism stories, you will leave with concrete steps to take individually and together—and resources to run this intergenerational, connection-and-action-sparking workshop for students and adults at home.

More About Innovators For Purpose and this workshop

In cofounders Michael and Donna Dawon’s words:

Society’s greatest challenges requires a diversity of minds to tackle, however historically not everyone has been invited to the table. We were founded to discover and equip those missing from the conversation.

Innovators for Purpose (iFp) is a BIPOC-led nonprofit design and innovation studio in Cambridge, MA that uncovers hidden talent and empowers socially conscious young people—especially those from underrecognized communities—with the skills and mindsets to realize their potential.

Changing the narrative around who designs and benefits from AI, and jumpstarting young people’s entry into that narrative, is a primary focus for iFp’s ongoing projects, including “Own the Algorithm” and “Transforming AI.”

Ela and the Dawsons were instrumental in the start of each others programs a decade ago, and Ela’s stayed connected as a design reviewer for the iFp program and the projects. Earlier this year, they asked her to co-develop a workshop for their Transforming AI summit and MIT Museum workshop series, bringing students and community members from outside iFp on this journey. We pulled in Pedro, Caitrin, and iFp students and wound up with thought-and-action-provoking workshop that felt so right for SXSW EDU!

Now, year after year, Ela has suggested that the Dawsons come with her to SXSW to showcase their powerful work, but Michael and Donna were too dedicated to the program to leave it mid-semester—and this year was no exception. So with their hearty support, Ela, Caitrin, and Pedro are proposing to adapt this workshop for SXSW EDU and include powerful stories of iFp students’ powerful AI activism and projects.

We encourage anyone interested in learning more about iFp to reach out to us or even better, contact them directly.

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