It’s time to build our media power.


It’s time to build our media power.

Hey everyone,

Technology companies have a compelling story — and people who are very good at telling it. It’s a story about innovation, progress, and building the future.

But the reality behind that narrative is a darker truth.

We’re living in a world shaped by actors who have become exceptionally good at accumulating power and influence — at everyone else’s expense. To dissuade people from rebellion, they’ve become adept at framing that power in ways that feel natural, inevitable, and even uplifting.

For years, researchers, advocates, and organizers have been pushing back. Challenging the dominant narrative and imagining alternatives that serve the public, not corporate interests. But if you look at the conversations that actually shape public opinion, policy, and power, our community is nowhere to be found.

We lament the simplistic, industry-driven stories. But critiquing in obscurity isn’t the path to progress. And we all know it!

Turning expertise into stories that cut through the well-orchestrated noise takes something more: strategy, repetition, relationships, and real communications muscle.

And there is a growing movement of individuals and organizations that see this issue and are tackling it head on.

It’s time to tilt the scale. We started The Maybe to fill that gap — to build media power for the people driving progressive technology politics.

For the past few years, we’ve been focused on platforming incredible people, giving their ideas and actions a place to shine. We want to take that theory of change to the next level, working with both individuals and organizations to build their media presence, cut through the noise, and tell stories that make the technocapitalist tales fall flat.

I’m super excited to introduce our two initiatives that serve both organizations and individuals. If you’re looking to build real and impactful media power for yourself or your org, we’ve got you.

For Orgs: Strategic Comms

Your team is producing important work — research, advocacy, and funding strategies — but you’re up against incredibly well-resourced incumbents.

We offer full-service PR and communications support to help you meet the moment: refining your story, building media relationships, and making sure your work shows up where it can actually influence the conversation.

Learn more here.

For Individuals: The Studio

You have the ideas, the expertise, and the perspective. But turning that into a platform that consistently reaches the right audiences and opens the right doors is a different kind of work.

That’s why we built The Studio, a six-month program designed to help thinkers, organizers, and creators focused on tech politics turn their expertise into influence.

Applications are open for our pilot cohort — learn more here.

Because the conversation doesn’t just need more good ideas. It needs the people behind those ideas to be impossible to ignore.

If you want help leveling up your work, we would love to hear from you. If you want to scheme because you’re doing similar media things, we have been organizing some community around that work and would love to hear more about what you're up to.

Alix

Tech Story of the Week

We’ve launched a new video series! This is Tech Story of the Week, a new series where we spotlight the stories that expose technology’s complex relationship with power. Check out the latest episode, and stay tuned on YouTube every Wednesday:

video preview

Events & Opportunities

Will you be at RightsCon? We will, and we’d love to see you there. Let us know if you’re attending (and if you’re hosting a session!) by replying to this email, and stay tuned for more from us.

Breakfast club: The program will be packed, but we’d love to see you for a relaxed breakfast on Friday before the conference. RSVP here.

We're hosting a live show! We're partnering with Luminate to host "Are 'Inclusion' & 'Sovereignty' Enough? Reimagining Africa’s Technological Future" as part of the RightsCon program. Join us on Thursday, May 7, 5:30pm-6:30pm CAT!

Podcast Highlights

🎙️ On the feed: Computer Says Kill — a false promise of precision and how authoritarian powers are leveraging AI warheads

Collapsing the Chain w/ with Matt Mahmoudi

The first installment of our mini-series on how AI fuels war is out now. Matt Mahmoudi traces the long history of government investment in military tech—and how it’s led to the present moment, where LLMs help identify and prioritize “legitimate targets” in places like Iran.

What you may have missed: Fantasy Factory, a mini-series exploring the stories and narratives pushed by AI boosters — alongside the artists and organizers building alternatives to those visions of immortal, disembodied futures in space. Plus, a gem from Naomi Klein!

How to Scare a Fascist w/ Naomi Klein

Why are authoritarian powers escalating so quickly? Naomi Klein says it’s because they’re scared. She points to recent wins in progressive organizing and discusses her upcoming book End Times Fascism.

Fantasy Factory: AI Supervillains w/ Anat Shenker-Osorio

Anat is a progressive campaign strategist who argues we should paint Silicon Valley tech bros for what they really are: supervillains. She shares a few quick lessons on how to flip the script.

Fantasy Factory: One Filmmaker’s Fight Against AI w/ Valerie Veatch

Valerie discusses her new film Ghost in the Machine, which traces how AI technology is deeply rooted in eugenics. An early adopter of AI herself, she quickly concluded it couldn’t be used to make meaningful art — so she made a film critiquing the industry instead.

Highlights from the New Protagonist Network

Data centers:

AI and Labor:

AI and data in public services:

Online platforms:

Imagining alternatives:

Find out more about the New Protagonist Network and apply to join.

ICYMI: NPN Slack updates & welcoming new members

Welcome to our new members! Kriti Bajpai, Noah Orgish, Janani, Jeni Barton, Rachel Murray, and Maria Farrell.

What we talked about on Slack this month: documentation on data labelling, tech & AI in war (including this powerful and personal piece by Roya Pakzad), and the Wayback Machine being under threat.

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Computer Says Maybe

A newsletter & podcast about AI and politics

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