Responsible AI for the Public Good: CUNY ISLG Joins Two New Initiatives
By Reagan Daly, Research Director
In theory, AI has incredible potential to help government and nonprofit entities improve the efficiency and quality of services. In practice, it also comes with questions and risks. CUNY ISLG is committed to understanding and using these tools responsibly and effectively, and has joined two initiatives to strengthen our ability to do so.
There is no dispute that artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived in the public sector. From healthcare to social services to criminal legal systems, AI tools and technologies are increasingly being used as diagnostic, case management, administrative, analytic, and learning tools, among others. And the capabilities and use cases are evolving quickly.
In theory, AI has incredible potential to help government and nonprofit entities improve the efficiency and quality of services. In practice, it also comes with questions and risks. Harnessing the opportunities without doing harm requires a nuanced understanding not just of how the mechanics of the technologies work, but the outcomes they produce in different settings and their potential to create bias.
Knowing both that AI tools are highly dependent on the quality, reliability, and accuracy of data that feed them, and that they will make mistakes if left unchecked, it is critical that they be used appropriately and integrated thoughtfully, responsibly, and with human oversight, judgment, and decision-making.
Knowing both that AI tools are highly dependent on the quality, reliability, and accuracy of data that feed them, and that they will make mistakes if left unchecked, it is critical that they be used appropriately and integrated thoughtfully, responsibly, and with human oversight, judgment, and decision-making.
As a trusted partner of state and local governments across the country, CUNY ISLG is committed to understanding and using these tools responsibly and effectively, both in our work with public sector partners and in our own internal organizational practices. Toward those goals, we are thrilled to announce our partnership in two important and timely initiatives: the AI for Nonprofits Sprint (AI Sprint), and the AI and Justice Consortium (AIJC).
The AI for Nonprofits Sprint
The AI Sprint was launched in 2024 to help nonprofits around the country develop basic literacy in AI, and to support them in building organizational AI strategies that are tailored to their needs and goals. To date, the initiative has worked with more than 250 nonprofit organizations; CUNY ISLG recently applied and was selected to be a member of their New York City (NYC) cohort, alongside colleagues and community peers.
Over the next few months, CUNY ISLG staff will grow institutional AI literacy through a four-step plan that begins with a baseline survey of knowledge across the Institute and then provides us with resources, tools, and trainings to help identify ways in which AI tools can responsibly be used to support the work of our organization and our partners, and help us develop guiding principles and policies in line with our goals and culture. This may include standards for:
Using AI to augment, not replace, human judgement and intelligence
Centering equity and inclusion in AI application
Upholding academic integrity and research ethics and rigor when using AI
Ensuring privacy and data protection is the foremost consideration
Developing clear transparency, accountability, and oversight protocols
Continuously assessing opportunities for improvement and evolving ethical governance
We will also have the opportunity to learn from more than 150 of our peer cohort members through a peer learning program. The work begins spring 2026.
“The organizations that serve our communities have always met complicated needs and limited funds with incredible resourcefulness. At CUNY ISLG, it’s our job to give them the tools to provide their critical services effectively and sustainably,” said Siobhán Carney, Policy Director at CUNY ISLG. “The AI for Nonprofits Sprint will help us better understand and deploy all these tools we have at our disposal.”
“The organizations that serve our communities have always met complicated needs and limited funds with incredible resourcefulness. At CUNY ISLG, it’s our job to give them the tools to provide their critical services effectively and sustainably,”
- Siobhán Carney, Policy Director
The AI and Justice Consortium
The AIJC was launched in early 2026 to bring government, nonprofit, research, and technology partners in the criminal legal space together to learn about and discuss the uses and potential of AI in the criminal legal system—including benefits and risks—and to use that knowledge to promote its responsible use in this space.
Guided by an Advisory Board of criminal legal practitioners, policy experts, technology leaders, and researchers, AIJC’s approach is grounded in four learning and information-sharing strategies:
Expert panels that respond to justice and technology practitioners’ questions as they arise
Convenings, webinars, and cohorts that spark new ideas and encourage others to participate in the field
A public database of research, resources, policy, and litigation to spread information and establish the facts
A national First Principles summit where partners and participants connect, reflect, and set the agenda for the field
Collectively, these strategies are designed to generate not just thoughtful, innovative ideas but resources and guidance that those in the field can use as they navigate the evolving AI landscape.
As a partner in AIJC, CUNY ISLG has the opportunity to directly influence the strategy and direction of the work, participating in events, contributing to resources and guidance, and shaping the framework of AI risks and opportunities. The Consortium recently kicked off these efforts with a webinar series on “Demystifying AI,” co-hosted with the John Jay College Future of Public Safety Initiative, which featured the implications of AI for police, courts, and incarceration.
“The AI and Justice Consortium is filling a tremendous gap in the criminal legal field right now, and we’re excited to be a part of it,” said Reagan Daly, CUNY ISLG Research Director. “Having worked with system actors from police to prosecutors to jail officials across the country, we have a lot of perspective on the critical responsibilities they hold and what is needed to perform them effectively. We’re ready to apply this knowledge to ethical and effective AI policies and practices.”
On April 29th, the AIJC is hosting a “Restorative Justice + AI Convening,” which will include community organizations in CUNY ISLG’s Community-Based Restorative Justice (CBRJ) initiative. This in-person convening will dig into the intersection of AI and restorative justice, including discussing how AI can be used to advance dignity, accountability, and healing, as well as learn how to use it responsibly and without harm.
We are honored and excited to collaborate on further efforts with an esteemed group of other partners, including the Center for Justice Innovation, Howard Law AI Initiative, Brennan Center for Justice, Microsoft, and New York University Policing Project.