Nonprofit civil liberties organization founded in 1920, with approximately 1,400 staff nationally. ACLU Foundation revenue approximately $307 million (FY 2024-2025); combined with 501(c)(4) entity, total budget is larger. Has an active AI and technology program challenging government and corporate AI deployments that threaten civil rights. Key AI-related activities include FOIA litigation against the NSA over AI in surveillance programs (filed April 2024), FOIA requests to 40+ federal agencies seeking records on DOGE's unrestricted access to sensitive personal data, and multiple challenges to government facial recognition deployments. Publicly opposed the Trump administration's December 2025 executive order preempting state AI regulation and the March 2025 AI Action Plan. Primary intervention types: litigation, legislative advocacy, public education.
AI Surveillance and Regime Durability ModelAnalysisAI Surveillance and Regime Durability ModelUsing historical regime collapse data (military regimes: 9 years, single-party: 30 years) and evidence from 80+ countries adopting surveillance technology, this model estimates AI-enabled authorita...Quality: 64/100Authoritarian Tools Diffusion ModelAnalysisAuthoritarian Tools Diffusion ModelThis model analyzes how AI surveillance technologies diffuse to authoritarian regimes through commercial sales, development assistance, joint ventures, reverse engineering, and illicit acquisition....Quality: 62/100Surveillance Chilling Effects ModelAnalysisSurveillance Chilling Effects ModelQuantifies how AI surveillance reduces freedom of expression through self-censorship mechanisms, estimating 50-70% reduction in dissent within months and 80-95% within 1-2 years in comprehensive su...Quality: 54/100
Organizations
Center for Democracy and TechnologyOrganizationCenter for Democracy and TechnologyCDT is one of the oldest and most established digital rights organizations engaging on AI policy, founded in 1994. Its AI Governance Lab focuses on algorithmic accountability, automated decision-ma...Democracy ForwardOrganizationDemocracy ForwardLegal nonprofit founded in 2017 that uses the courts to challenge government actions that undermine democratic principles. Led by Skye L. Perryman (President and CEO). Launched an appellate litigat...Revolving Door ProjectOrganizationRevolving Door ProjectGovernment accountability project (of the Goodnation Foundation) led by Executive Director Jeff Hauser. Funded by Democracy Fund. Maintains the "Tracking Uses of AI in the Trump Administration" tra...Access NowOrganizationAccess NowInternational digital rights organization founded in 2009. Annual revenue approximately $15M (as of 2025). Led by Executive Director Alejandro Mayoral Banos (succeeded Brett Solomon who served 2009...AlgorithmWatchOrganizationAlgorithmWatchNonprofit research and advocacy organization focused on algorithmic accountability, founded in 2017. Also has a Zurich office. Co-founded and led by Executive Director Matthias Spielkamp. Conducts ...
Risks
Erosion of Human AgencyRiskErosion of Human AgencyComprehensive analysis of AI-driven agency erosion across domains: 42.3% of EU workers under algorithmic management (EWCS 2024), 70%+ of Americans consuming news via social media algorithms, and do...Quality: 91/100AI Mass SurveillanceRiskAI Mass SurveillanceComprehensive analysis of AI-enabled mass surveillance documenting deployment in 97 of 179 countries, with detailed evidence of China's 600M cameras and Xinjiang detention of 1-1.8M Uyghurs. NIST s...Quality: 64/100AI-Enabled Authoritarian TakeoverRiskAI-Enabled Authoritarian TakeoverComprehensive analysis documenting how 72% of global population (5.7 billion) now lives under autocracy with AI surveillance deployed in 80+ countries, showing 15 consecutive years of declining int...Quality: 61/100AI Surveillance and US Democratic ErosionRiskAI Surveillance and US Democratic ErosionAnalysis of how data centralization, oversight dismantlement, and AI capability acquisition by the US government create near-term threats to democratic processes. Documents the Anthropic-Pentagon s...Quality: 55/100
Historical
Anthropic-Pentagon Standoff (2026)EventAnthropic-Pentagon Standoff (2026)Comprehensive analysis of the February 2026 confrontation between Anthropic and the US government. Triggered when Claude AI was used in the January 2026 Venezuela raid via Palantir, Anthropic refus...Quality: 70/100
Other
Amba KakPersonAmba KakCo-Executive Director of the AI Now Institute. Named to TIME's 100 Most Influential People in AI (2024). Addressed the UN General Assembly on AI governance. Previously at Mozilla Foundation and the...