Director of AI for Individual Rights

Job Description

The Human Rights Foundation is embarking on a multi-year plan to create a pioneering AI for Individual Rights program to help steer the world’s AI industry and tools away from repression, censorship, and surveillance, and towards individual freedom.

HRF is now seeking a Director of AI for Individual Rights to lead this work. Apply today with a cover letter describing why you are a good fit for this role, as well as a resume and names of three individuals you would suggest as references.

This initiative comes at a moment where AI tools made by the Chinese Communist Party are some of the best in the world, and are displacing tools made by corporations and associations inside liberal democracies. This also comes at a moment where open-source AI tools have never been more powerful, and the opportunities to use AI tools to strengthen and expand the work that dissidents do inside authoritarian regimes have never had more potential. When citizens are holding their governments accountable, they should use the most advanced technology possible.

There are many “AI ethics” working groups, associations, non-profits, industry papers, and centers already extant, but zero have a focus on authoritarian regimes. Many are bought off by the Chinese government, and refuse to criticize the Chinese government’s role in using AI for repression in the Uyghur region, in Tibet, in Hong Kong, and elsewhere. Others are influenced by the Saudi or Russian governments and hold their tongue on too many issues. Others still are very close to the US government and must mind a different set of political alliances.

HRF will establish the first fully-sovereign program, liberated to monitor and expose AI being used by autocrats as a tool of repression and also support open-source AI tools in the hands of dissidents, especially those laboring under tyranny.

Critically, this program will not be oriented towards preventing “superintelligence” risk or concerned with an AGI becoming catastrophically powerful. While those might be worthy efforts, this program will be entirely focused on tracking and challenging how authoritarian regimes are using AI and helping spark the proliferation of open-source tools that can empower and liberate individuals.

HRF will establish a Center for AI for Individual Rights in the San Francisco Bay Area, where there will be room for the AI for Individual Rights team to work in person and also have an event space to host relevant industry events.

The Director of AI for Individual Rights will report directly to the President of the Human Rights Foundation and will work closely alongside the Chief Advocacy Officer and the Chief Strategy Officer.

The Director does not need to be a technologist or software engineer, but must have a firm grasp of global AI issues. They must be able to speak eloquently about the topic at public events and with the media.

Responsibilities and Overview

Responsibilities for the Director and and overview of operations are as follows:

Research and Investigations

Publishing an open ranking of the world’s LLMs in terms of freedom, from most to least freedom-oriented
Publishing an annual report of countries with respect to AI and individual rights: who is using AI in the most repressive ways, and who is attacking the ability of individuals to use open source AI tools. Focused on, for example, the CCP’s surveillance and social engineering of the Uyghurs; the Iranian regime’s attempts to force women to comply by a particular dress code; or Dubai’s rulers’ attempts to achieve omniscience and predictive policing
Examining which AI companies are selling software to tyrannies, holding a public investigation into those relationships, and encouraging them not to continue to do so. At the same time, encouraging AI companies to stay open-source

Overseeing Open-source Grants

Running a grant program to provide a growing number of grants to open-source AI tool-builders, educators, and advocates around the world, with a focus on those working under authoritarian regimes
Establishing bounties informed by the needs of dissidents: what opens-source AI tools do they need? And providing the incentive to get those tools built and into their hands

Producing Freedom Software

Supporting the creation of end-to-end encrypted LLM applications so that individuals under dictatorships can safely use cutting-edge AI tools without being surveilled
Supporting the creation of AI models which do not self-censor on political topics
Investing in AI infrastructure in nostr so that more people can choose their own algorithms and more people can interface with chatbots through nostr and pay for this permissionlessly via bitcoin or ecash

Aiding dissidents

Supporting the creation of AI tools for dissidents that can help them, for example, translate their educational or strategic work into many different languages. For instance, webinars by the world’s greatest freedom fighters done in one language, “dubbed” by AI into 5-6 more languages
Help dissidents build AI-powered tools to help them have a real-time understanding of what is happening in countries by studying social media and video clips
Oversee a growing team of “HRF AI Fellows” who are subject-matter experts who can work directly with dissidents and non-profit organizations to optimize their AI strategies

Strategic Events

Running an annual 100-person AI for Individual Rights summit with the top minds in the space alongside a range of dissidents to unite these groups and drive action
Establishing HRF presence at the top global AI industry events, in the form of speaking slots, expo booths, and side events, so that we are part of the conversation and helping to steer the conversation
Curating an AI for Individual Rights track at HRF’s annual flagship Oslo Freedom Forum conference

Public Education

Creating a AI for Individual Rights newsletter and accompanying regular content which focus on both a) how governments are abusing AI to repress and b) how people are fighting back with open-source AI tools
Monthly short video “explainer” content for social media
Producing an annual high-level investigation into AI repression inside tyrannies. This would take the form of a report, viral video explainer, and media circuit
Regularly briefing policymakers and corporate leaders on AI and human rights issues

Staffing

Building and managing a lean and capable team to help achieve the above goals
The team to execute these programs will grow to include at least one logistics/events associate, one content/research associate, one grants associate, and one media/communications associate. The Director will be in charge of hiring and managing these associates with an eye towards creating and maintaining a world-class team

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What differentiates us from other human rights organizations is our singular focus on authoritarian regimes.

We consider our mission essential given that today more than 5.7 billion people live under tyranny. That’s 72% of the world’s population in 94 countries from Cuba to Russia to Saudi Arabia to North Korea.

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