· Jun 3, 2025
Kate Brennan, Amba Kak, and Sarah Myers West argue in AI Now Institute’s report for public agency over AI
Markdown · JSON · Original source
’s report was published on June 3, 2025. Its authors, , , and , argue that the push to integrate AI products everywhere grants AI companies and the tech oligarchs who run them power beyond their deep pockets. The report frames the stakes as more than how people use AI: it says today’s AI is also “being used on us.” Its proposed response is to reclaim public agency over AI’s future, with concrete strategies for community organizers, policymakers, and the public to change the trajectory. The overview does not describe those strategies or specify what effects the report expects them to have.
Headline and summary by Escape Meridian, prepared by Luna from the attributed source. A source check is not independent confirmation of the source’s claims.
Original source
· Article
Source details
Original source date: Jun 3, 2025 (2025-06-03T01:42:57Z).
Date basis: Date from the publisher’s own records, through its API.
Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-13T23:08:23.465Z. First observed: 2026-10-25T03:37:45.575Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-25T03:39:38.279Z.
Referenced by
Recorded citations and public file attachments. A reference alone does not establish agreement or influence.
No public references recorded here yet.
Limits
Text as retrieved on October 26, 2026; originally published June 3, 2025. The supplied page text gives an overview, but not the report’s proposed strategies or evidence for its claims about AI companies’ power. The page identifies , , and Dr. as authors; the supplied overview does not assign individual arguments among them.
Open question
What concrete strategies does the report propose, and how does it expect them to change AI’s trajectory?
Source-stated
AI Now Institute’s report argues that widespread integration of AI products gives AI companies and the tech oligarchs who run them power beyond their financial resources.
the push to integrate AI products everywhere grants AI companies – and the tech oligarchs that run them – power that goes far beyond their deep pockets
Source-stated
The report frames AI as something people are not only using, but that is also being used on them.
today’s AI isn’t just being used by us, it’s being used on us.
Source-stated
The report says it offers strategies for community organizers, policymakers, and the public to change AI’s trajectory.
offering concrete strategies for community organizers, policymakers, and the public to change this trajectory.
Source and contributor context
AI Now Institute · Publisher
The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred.
Source media
Media retrieval status: unchecked.
Terms and references
Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement.
Kate Brennan
Kate Brennan is an AI Now Institute researcher and coauthor of its 2025 report on power and policy in AI.
Amba Kak
Amba Kak is a policy researcher at AI Now Institute working on public accountability and the power behind AI systems.
Sarah Myers West
Sarah Myers West is an AI Now Institute researcher examining technology, corporate power and public policy.
AI Now Institute
AI Now Institute studies the power and institutions shaping AI and advocates for public accountability.
Editorial provenance
Version 1. Publication ID: d1f88369-4276-c5a1-c741-2945a6cf0b64.
Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5.
Source check: uncertain by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-13T23:03:57.957Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true.
Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge_admitted_by_model.
Observation: 489085acd44ecda9efb53638069f7eca2b5d9d52457c9bc41605667f5e54a03c. Source text hash: 323620522acc6dd94bb0b97c47dff00836ddc5c618379248734d61fabe72acef.
Revision and source-check history
Version 1 · 2026-11-13T23:08:23.465Z
Kate Brennan, Amba Kak, and Sarah Myers West argue in AI Now Institute’s report for public agency over AI
’s report was published on June 3, 2025. Its authors, , , and , argue that the push to integrate AI products everywhere grants AI companies and the tech oligarchs who run them power beyond their deep pockets. The report frames the stakes as more than how people use AI: it says today’s AI is also “being used on us.” Its proposed response is to reclaim public agency over AI’s future, with concrete strategies for community organizers, policymakers, and the public to change the trajectory. The overview does not describe those strategies or specify what effects the report expects them to have.
Original source
· Article
Source details
Original source date: Jun 3, 2025 (2025-06-03T01:42:57Z).
Date basis: Date from the publisher’s own records, through its API.
Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-13T23:08:23.465Z. First observed: 2026-10-25T03:37:45.575Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-25T03:39:38.279Z.
Limits
Text as retrieved on October 26, 2026; originally published June 3, 2025. The supplied page text gives an overview, but not the report’s proposed strategies or evidence for its claims about AI companies’ power. The page identifies , , and Dr. as authors; the supplied overview does not assign individual arguments among them.
Open question
What concrete strategies does the report propose, and how does it expect them to change AI’s trajectory?
Source-stated
AI Now Institute’s report argues that widespread integration of AI products gives AI companies and the tech oligarchs who run them power beyond their financial resources.
the push to integrate AI products everywhere grants AI companies – and the tech oligarchs that run them – power that goes far beyond their deep pockets
Source-stated
The report frames AI as something people are not only using, but that is also being used on them.
today’s AI isn’t just being used by us, it’s being used on us.
Source-stated
The report says it offers strategies for community organizers, policymakers, and the public to change AI’s trajectory.
offering concrete strategies for community organizers, policymakers, and the public to change this trajectory.
Source and contributor context
AI Now Institute · Publisher
The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred.
Source media
Media retrieval status: unchecked.
Terms and references
Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement.
Kate Brennan
Kate Brennan is an AI Now Institute researcher and coauthor of its 2025 report on power and policy in AI.
Amba Kak
Amba Kak is a policy researcher at AI Now Institute working on public accountability and the power behind AI systems.
Sarah Myers West
Sarah Myers West is an AI Now Institute researcher examining technology, corporate power and public policy.
AI Now Institute
AI Now Institute studies the power and institutions shaping AI and advocates for public accountability.
Editorial provenance
Version 1. Publication ID: d1f88369-4276-c5a1-c741-2945a6cf0b64.
Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5.
Source check: uncertain by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-13T23:03:57.957Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true.
Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge_admitted_by_model.
Observation: 489085acd44ecda9efb53638069f7eca2b5d9d52457c9bc41605667f5e54a03c. Source text hash: 323620522acc6dd94bb0b97c47dff00836ddc5c618379248734d61fabe72acef.
uncertain · 2026-11-13T23:03:57.957Z · anthropic/claude-opus-5.5
Publication: d1f88369-4276-c5a1-c741-2945a6cf0b64
attribution — pass: The page is the landing page of a single report, with its own overview argument rather than a bare listing. The reading credits AI Now Institute and the authors named on the page, keeps the arguments attributed to the report, and notes that the overview does not divide arguments among the authors.
Authored by Kate Brennan, Amba Kak, and Dr. Sarah Myers West.
summary — pass: The reading leads with the actor and the argument: integrating AI everywhere gives companies power beyond their money, and AI is being used on people. It keeps the report's force, including its 'used on us' phrasing and 'tech oligarchs' language, and explains its aim in plain terms. It openly says the strategies are not described. The question follows from that gap and is not leading. No central jargon is left unexplained.
We need to reckon with the ways in which today’s AI isn’t just being used by us, it’s being used on us.
date — uncertain: June 3, 2025 matches the UTC day of originalPublished and the page's citation line. No hindsight framing appears. However, the limitation says 'Text as retrieved on October 26, 2026', while the retrieval metadata shows October 25, 2026. This is a date departure that cannot be quoted from the source text. Smallest repair: change it to October 25, 2026. The page was also edited after publication (January 2026), though the cited overview is consistent with the original report.
AI Now Institute, June 3, 2025
support — pass: All three claims are close paraphrases of the overview, and they are attributed to the report rather than presented as fact. The reading adds no invented benefits, costs or forecasts, and it correctly notes that the strategies and evidence are absent from this page. The page was edited after publication, but the overview is the report's own framing and is consistent with its June 2025 citation.
the push to integrate AI products everywhere grants AI companies – and the tech oligarchs that run them – power that goes far beyond their deep pockets
media — pass: No media is selected, and no verified media candidates were supplied, so nothing is misidentified.
Challenge or correct this reading
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AI Now Institute studies the power and institutions shaping AI and advocates for public accountability.
Explore AI Now InstituteAI Now Institute studies the power and institutions shaping AI and advocates for public accountability.
Explore AI Now InstituteKate Brennan is an AI Now Institute researcher and coauthor of its 2025 report on power and policy in AI.
Explore Kate BrennanAmba Kak is a policy researcher at AI Now Institute working on public accountability and the power behind AI systems.
Explore Amba KakSarah Myers West is an AI Now Institute researcher examining technology, corporate power and public policy.
Explore Sarah Myers WestAI Now Institute studies the power and institutions shaping AI and advocates for public accountability.
Explore AI Now InstituteKate Brennan is an AI Now Institute researcher and coauthor of its 2025 report on power and policy in AI.
Explore Kate BrennanAmba Kak is a policy researcher at AI Now Institute working on public accountability and the power behind AI systems.
Explore Amba KakSarah Myers West is an AI Now Institute researcher examining technology, corporate power and public policy.
Explore Sarah Myers WestAI Now Institute studies the power and institutions shaping AI and advocates for public accountability.
Explore AI Now InstituteKate Brennan is an AI Now Institute researcher and coauthor of its 2025 report on power and policy in AI.
Explore Kate BrennanAmba Kak is a policy researcher at AI Now Institute working on public accountability and the power behind AI systems.
Explore Amba KakSarah Myers West is an AI Now Institute researcher examining technology, corporate power and public policy.
Explore Sarah Myers WestAI Now Institute studies the power and institutions shaping AI and advocates for public accountability.
Explore AI Now InstituteKate Brennan is an AI Now Institute researcher and coauthor of its 2025 report on power and policy in AI.
Explore Kate BrennanAmba Kak is a policy researcher at AI Now Institute working on public accountability and the power behind AI systems.
Explore Amba KakSarah Myers West is an AI Now Institute researcher examining technology, corporate power and public policy.
Explore Sarah Myers West