About

Our Purpose

As AI redefines power and possibility in the 21st century - and authoritarianism ascends worldwide - civil society must harness AI as one of its own tools to protect pluralism and democracy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning represent an epochal change to human society - akin to the advent of the printing press, electricity and the internet.

Yet the people and movements dedicated to preserving open, democratic societies and making the future accessible and safe for all — have little grasp of how this tech works, and little to no access to those who do.

AI has great promise in strengthening democracy - enabling safer, freer elections, citizen discernment of truth and policy, exposing corruption, deepening civil and human rights, and more. But we aren't supporting these applications.

Pluro Labs is built to jumpstart this process, addressing critical threats to democracy, as we build lasting, AI-fluent capabilities across our field.

What we do

Pluro Labs harnesses AI to deepen and protect democracy, through three activities:

01
Incubate

We support technologists to develop and release AI-enabled tools that deepen democracy. These tools protect elections and democratic institutions, root out corruption, counter mis-information, elevate truth, foster civic engagement, combat political extremism, protect marginalized groups, and more.

02
Apply

We partner with civil society practitioners - in both US and abroad - to apply new AI-enabled tools and datasets to address critical challenges to open societies. These actors include human and civil rights advocates, journalists, litigators, organizers, and policy makers in social media, data, AI and democratic governance.

03
Share

We share what we learn - through briefings, reports, and datasets - to help civil society to safely apply AI to preserve democratic norms in the automation age. Our projects are also selected to create research, data, and evidence that helps advocacy and policy actors working on governance of AI, data, and social platforms.

Team

Sofia S | Data Researcher + Analyst
Data Researcher

Sofia is an OSINT and data analyst with experience across human rights, democracy protection, and digital investigations for legal accountability.

Yaas F | Data Researcher + Analyst
Data Researcher + Analyst

Yaas F is a data-driven researcher and analyst with deep passion for protecting democracy, human rights, and the public good.

Will Byrne | Founder + Executive Director
Founder and Executive Director

Will is a social entrepreneur, applied technology executive, and democracy advocate. Will was founding CEO of Groundswell, a social enterprise that makes clean energy accessible to disadvantaged communities in the US. He then led strategy at a Bay Area AI and emerging tech firm, and led tech and innovation teams at global humanitarian and human rights organizations.

Will is an affiliated scholar at UC Berkeley's CITRIS Lab on Tech in the Public Interest. He's written on AI, emerging tech, and democracy for FastCompany and other publications. Will worked at Der Spiegel and the American Academy in Berlin, and his background in German history and United States politics informs his focus upon deepening democratic resilience worldwide. Will has been honored as an Ashoka Fellow, World Economic Forum Global Shaper, Forbes 30 under 30 Entrepreneur, White House Champion of Change, and Stanford d.School Fellow.

Mackenzie B | Program + Communications Manager
Program + Communications Manager

Mackenzie is an operations and program management specialist with background in evidentiary research. She supports Pluro Labs'  engagement and communications with policy, legal and advocacy stakeholders.

Advisors

Alexa Koenig, PhD, JD
Co-Executive Director, UC Berkeley Human Rights Center; Founder, Digital Investigations Lab. Global leader in technology and human rights, architect of Berkeley Protocol on open-source investigation.
Dhruv Gulati
Co-Founder and CEO, Factmata. Mis-information technologist, product leader, expert in fraud, digital information and media ecosystems, and social networks.
Hany Farid, PhD
Professor and Dean Alumnus, UC Berkeley School of Information. Technologist, researcher, trailblazer in image analysis and computer vision technology.
Rumman Chowdury, PhD
Former Director; Machine Learning Ethics, Transparency, and Accountability; Twitter. Expert, pioneer, advocate in ethics in AI and machine learning.
Sue Hendrickson, JD
Director Emeritus, Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. Expert in technology and media policy and law.