New program to surface critical lived experiences from youth communities, bridging the gap between tech development and social impact
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The non-profits AI4ALL and AI for All Tomorrows announced they have been awarded a $300,000 grant from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation to launch [DEFINE]: Our AI Futures, a participatory storytelling initiative to empower young people to share their visions for the future of AI technology.
[DEFINE]: Our AI Futures will invite youth participants from around the US to share their stories about how AI is shaping their daily lives, communities, and identities – and their visions for the future of technology. Over the next 12 months, AI4ALL and AI for All Tomorrows will collect 100+ youth-generated videos from across the country and build a public digital collection of stories. [DEFINE]: Our AI Futures will also produce a documentary featuring national youth leaders as they navigate cutting-edge AI conversations such as the impact of AI on climate, mental health, and education.
"As AI rapidly transforms society, we cannot build a responsible technological future without the voices and leadership of the young people who will inherit its consequences," said Bo Young Lee, CEO of AI4ALL. "This grant allows us to elevate youth perspectives, challenge the narrow viewpoints that dominate technology design today, and spark real dialogue between young people, industry leaders, and policymakers."
Dylan Thomas Doyle, Executive Director of AI for All Tomorrows, adds that "Young people, particularly those from historically excluded communities, remain largely absent from the conversations shaping the future of AI. While they are disproportionately affected by automated decision-making systems in education, employment, and healthcare, they rarely have access to platforms that allow them to share their experiences, concerns, or visions in their own words. [DEFINE]: Our AI Futures aims to change that by centering their lived experiences and creative insights."
"Young people experience AI's impact firsthand, yet their perspectives remain largely absent from decision-making. AI4ALL and AI for All Tomorrows' [DEFINE]: Our AI Futures addresses that gap by giving youth communities a voice in how AI transforms their daily realities and future opportunities. This work ensures that the generation inheriting AI-shaped institutions has the capacity to influence them," said Vilas Dhar, President, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.
[DEFINE]: Our AI Futures will expand whose voices help shape the future of artificial intelligence by empowering young people to share their lived experiences with the technology and their visions for what comes next. Through creative video submissions, youth-led narratives, and documentary storytelling, the initiative will elevate new and essential perspectives in national conversations on AI governance. The effort aims not only to increase AI literacy through creative expression, but also to translate youth storytelling into actionable insights for policymakers, technology leaders, and researchers.
Youth creators ages 18–24 from across the U.S. will be invited to participate in the program. The initiative invites all U.S.-based youth to participate and welcomes voices that are often excluded from technology policy and design, particularly Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/e, Asian American, Pacific Islander, disabled, women, and LGBTQ+ youth, as well as those from rural areas, immigrant communities, enlisted military or veterans, low-income households, parents, and first-generation college backgrounds.
About AI4ALL
AI4ALL is an award-winning nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that AI benefits humanity. Founded in 2017 by leading AI scientists, business leaders, and educators, including Dr. Fei-Fei Li, AI4ALL was seed-funded by Melinda French Gates (Pivotal Ventures) and Jensen Huang (NVIDIA). Rooted in responsible AI and inclusion, AI4ALL offers opportunities for people to acquire AI skills and develop future-proof skills that enable them to thrive in an increasingly AI-driven world. AI4ALL has received funding from Google.org, Melinda Gates/Pivotal Ventures, Salesforce, General Motors, Reboot Representation, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, and SoftBank, among others and has been featured in the New York Times, TIME, CNN, The Washington Post, USA Today, and The Atlantic. For more information on the organization, please contact Nicole Halmi at [email protected], or visit https://ai-4-all.org/.
About AI For All Tomorrows
AI for All Tomorrows is a media collective whose mission is to tell the stories of people developing and using technology to serve the public good. Creating content and art that is future-oriented around imagining more ideal futures for technology, AI for All Tomorrows aims to shift the dominant narrative in technology journalism away from hype and horror and toward collective liberation. The work of AI for All Tomorrows reaches thousands of viewers each month and has received national media acclaim from publications such as Wired, the Denver Post, and Bloomberg News. For more information on AI for All Tomorrows, please contact [email protected], or visit https://aiforalltomorrows.org/.
About Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation (PJMF) is a philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence and data science solutions to create a thriving, equitable, and sustainable future for all. PJMF works in partnership with public, private, and social institutions to drive progress on our most pressing challenges, including digital health, climate change, broad digital access, and data maturity in the social sector.
Media Contact
Nicole Halmi, AI4ALL, 1 401-529-6403, [email protected], https://ai-4-all.org/
SOURCE AI4ALL
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