Year in Review 2025: Technology and Artificial Intelligence – KPFA
Hard Knock Radio
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Hard Knock Radio
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This Hard Knock Radio conversation is a year-in-review on tech and AI, with host Davey D chopping it up with Quency Phillips of Lighthouse Innovation Center and social entrepreneur/author Darian Rodriguez Heyman. They start by framing 2025 as the year AI moved from “wow” to “woven in” – no longer just a flashy search trick but fully integrated into business and everyday tools. Quency points to shifts like OpenAI’s move from nonprofit to for-profit and the growing role of government and big tech in shaping who actually benefits from AI.
Darian breaks down how nonprofits are lagging behind. About half of workers and most nonprofits are using AI in some way, but less than ten percent of organizations have even a basic internal policy. Individual staff might be experimenting with tools, but there’s little organizational strategy, especially while funding is being cut, DEI is under attack, and groups serving communities of color are afraid of becoming targets. He stresses that nonprofits need to see AI as a mission tool for fundraising, marketing, program evaluation, and back-office work, and he highlights sector-specific tools like CauseWriter and Change Agent that bake in stronger values and data protections.
The conversation then turns to power, politics, and weapons. Davey raises the “no woke AI” rhetoric, the lack of federal regulation, and the danger of AI being shaped solely by billionaires and corporations. Quency and Darian talk about AI agents – autonomous bots that can handle multi-step tasks – and the risk of a new divide where only big tech and government can afford the most powerful tools. Davey pushes on data as people power: if platforms are mining communities for profit, what does it look like for organizers, media makers, and nonprofits to own their lists, their relationships, and their narratives, instead of letting tech be the permanent middleman?
They close by offering marching orders for 2026. Quency urges communities to clarify their priorities – from AI tutors for underfunded schools to health equity tools that actually see Black and brown bodies – and to keep asking not just “what can AI do?” but “who is AI doing it for?” Darian reminds listeners that AI is not a future issue, it is right now, and encourages folks to start small, learn the tools, build from their community’s needs, and use AI as a car – powerful and risky, but ultimately a vehicle – rather than surrendering it as a weapon pointed at them.
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.
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