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Many of the organizations we serve do some of the most courageous and vulnerable work in the world, including advancing reproductive freedom and Palestinian liberation. These movements are constantly under surveillance and face disproportionate risks in terms of digital security. As consultants, it is our responsibility to ensure that the tools we use protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of our clients and their communities. This is why we made the deliberate decision to create a formal AI policy, grounded not in tech hype, but in the real security needs of the people we serve.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming embedded in workplace tools, often without much transparency about how data is handled, stored, or shared. For organizations already operating under threat, even minor lapses can have severe consequences. Our AI policy sets clear boundaries: we only use AI in ways that are pre-approved, transparent, and consent-based. Any use of tools that record conversations or process sensitive information requires the client's explicit consent. We are also mindful of the ways AI, particularly generative AI, contributes to plagiarism, misinformation, environmental racism, and the theft of labor. Many AI systems are trained on content scraped without consent from writers, artists, and scholars, particularly BIPOC, queer, disabled, and other marginalized creators whose intellectual contributions are often already undervalued. These systems can reproduce false information as fact, erode trust in original work, and strip credit from the people who deserve it. As a consulting firm that values integrity, we cannot endorse tools that profit from stolen knowledge or perpetuate the spread of inaccuracies that directly harm our clients and their movements. In the larger schema of our values, especially acknowledging the intersectionality of the values of reproductive justice with the way we do our work, we recognize that AI is built on systems that disproportionately harm poor and disabled people. From algorithmic bias in hiring to the exploitation of low-wage workers who created training data sets for AI models, these technologies often replicate inequities rather than reduce them. Disabled folks and immigrants may be surveilled or excluded when AI tools are used inappropriately, and poor communities often bear the brunt of the damage AI data centers may cause. Marginalized communities are disproportionately impacted via environmental injustices, with studies showing that affected counties are often low-income and predominantly Black. These facilities demand vast amounts of electricity and water, strain local infrastructure, and offer few high-paying jobs, while generating significant air pollution that harms residents' health. Instead of benefiting communities, tax incentives and data center growth often favor corporations, leading to increased energy rates and a lack of long-term economic returns for locals. As a firm committed to equity, we cannot ignore these realities. Our values demand that we approach AI with caution and align our practices with justice, not convenience. It’s not just about weighing the risks of security or privacy; it’s about how we operationalize our values. By codifying these practices, we are setting a standard for ourselves and, hopefully, contributing to a broader conversation about how social justice organizations and their partners can approach technology responsibly. We believe that equity, safety, and solidarity must guide our approach to engaging with new tools. In creating this policy, we are sending a clear message: our clients’ security is not negotiable, and every choice we make as a firm is rooted in protecting their work, their people, and their vision for liberation. In solidarity, Rachel Kacenjar
Principal Consultant & Co-Managing Director
Work in Progress Consulting p.s. A previous version of this newsletter was sent out earlier today without a subject -line, apologies for the oversight! - Ginny, Co-Managing Director
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