Building Tech for the Just Transition – An AI Platform for the Social Sector

Join Kristine Michie in this PlayFull exploration of how AI tools can be trained to be allies for the progressive movement. With guests Aram Fischer from Change Agent AI and Mikka Kei MacDonald from Community Change, this conversation cracks open how values-aligned tech can dismantle power imbalances, challenge the dominance of corporate giants, and invite more people to the table. If you've ever felt like tech was something built for someone else — this episode will have you whistling a new tune.

Key Takeaways:

• Change Agent AI is a generative AI tool specifically designed for social impact and advocacy organizations, aligning with progressive values and mitigating bias.
• Community Change helped co-found Change Agent AI to create an AI platform built by and for the progressive movement, rather than relying on corporate tech giants.
• The platform prioritizes user data privacy, storing information on the organization’s servers rather than sharing it with third-party corporations and those tearing down vital institutions.
• By aligning AI tools with social justice values, users can shape the technology rather than passively consuming it – or being harmed by it.
• The platform offers custom large language models (LLMs) tailored to an organization's voice, values, and worldview.
• AI tools should be seen as a highly capable intern—not a replacement—while human wisdom, insight, and final review remain essential.
• The progressive tech movement is challenging the dominance of big tech corporations by creating alternative, values-aligned tools.
• Inclusivity and equity can be embedded in AI tools from the ground up—rather than added as an afterthought or manipulated for ill.

"What we all know is that there is no such thing as being neutral—no such thing as being non-political. And so, what Change Agent is able to do is counter some of the averages of the internet [for good]." — Mikka Kei MacDonald

"Think of AI as an extremely technically talented intern—give them background info, a bit of direction, and they can do almost anything... that's how generative AI works for content generation." — Aram Fischer

"Ideally, the more people who learn how to use this tool, the more who can shape its future—we're not just consumers, but also shaping the tool to fit our needs." — Mikka Kei MacDonald

About Aram Fischer and Mikka Kei MacDonald:

Aram Fischer is the CEO & Cofounder of Change Agent AI, the first