Moving Past the AI Wild West: Oakland's Trustworthy Tech Ecosystem

Learn how to take a more active and informed stance on AI use and adoption, and how to reward startups for prioritizing the public interest!
About this Event

Public interest organizations are now flooded with AI tools they do not understand, let alone trust. But Oakland-based ventures are reversing this dynamic. Hortus AI has launched Trellis, an online marketplace that curates, evaluates, and offers trusted discovery of high-quality tools–a “consumer reports” for the AI era. Meanwhile, the Kapor Center has initiated the PRIME Alliance to update procurement rules for urgent public needs (e.g. in housing, education, and workforce development) so that tech startups can more easily provide value-aligned tools to state and local governments. 

Together, these initiatives comprise an Oakland-driven vision for Responsible AI: give organizations better, clearer pathways to AI adoption while rewarding tech companies for prioritizing the public interest.

This panel discussion presents both initiatives in detail. It explores the following questions:

• Why should public interest organizations be using AI? 
• How can they identify trustworthy AI tools?
• What infrastructure is missing from the present AI market?
• How can Hortus Trellis and the PRIME Alliance provide solutions?