Rage Against The Algorithm -- Lois Parshley, The Lever

As Trump leans into AI, automated systems are already ruining lives. A new organization is out to stop it.

Lois Parshley -- The Lever

Feb. 21, 2025

As a former legal aid attorney, Kevin De Liban knows President Donald Trump’s plan to double down on artificial intelligence comes with major risks. Over and over, De Liban has seen how automated decisions can ruin people’s lives.

That’s why De Liban recently started a nonprofit called TechTonic Justice to help people fight back. He’s building resources to help affected communities hold these faceless, impersonal systems accountable, spreading the word about the problem in publications like The Hill and on NPR. The goal is to provide training for lawyers, educate advocates, and help affected people — those denied benefits like health care or social security — participate in policy conversations. 

The stakes for his work just got higher. On Trump’s first day back in office, the president removed existing federal safeguards for AI. 

After a $1 million donation from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to Trump’s inaugural fund, the company announced it would create a version of the popular artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT for government agencies — including highly sensitive information like nuclear weapon security. The contract followed the president’s $500 billion commitment to a joint venture by OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank to build new data centers.

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