NextDemocracy banner

Build the Future of Freedom & Democracy in the US

April 25 · San Francisco Get Tickets
NextDemocracy banner

Build the Future of Freedom & Democracy in the US

April 25 · San Francisco Get Tickets

We the people, take action.

What would your dream community, country, and democracy be like?
What if that wasn’t so far off?

Our democracy in the US is far from perfect, and at the same time it has provided us with so so much. While there’s plenty of talk about how it’s broken, there’s less talk about what we can do about it, and what we actually want it to become.

No matter what you care about — affordability, climate/regeneration, housing, jobs, peace & justice, healthcare, education, individual rights and freedom, or otherwise — all of that and more flows through us protecting, strengthening, and revitalizing our democracy.

We’re gathering at Frontier Tower in San Francisco, a 16-story “vertical village”, innovation hub, and “community democracy in formation” that once served as the Burning Man headquarters, for community building, good food, and designing the future that we’re going to co-create through our collective action.

Come join this dynamic and participatory gathering for discussions and co-creation at the hub of dreaming and building, in the city of builders, the City of Awe, as we design strategies to avert the likely trajectory of collapse and instead co-create the communities, the country, the democracy, and the world that we dream of living in.

You’ll leave feeling inspired, connected, and with an action plan and simple concrete things you, your community or organization, and us collectively as citizens can do to strengthen our democracy and make government more responsive to our community interests.

We can do this. Now is the time to act. Join us.

We are the city council members we’ve been waiting for.

Our Partners

Let’s build America’s Next Democracy together.
Become a partner →

East Bay Civic Hub Frontier Tower Nice Industries Civic Enlightenment Project CalDEC Collaboration Arts Community Dialogue Partners Good Neighbor Lab Unconference SF Public Press Bloom.pm Manny's Social Impact SF Trellis One Fair Wage Indivisible SF Better Together America Co-Caring Mediators Foundation I Am Interchange

The Event – April 25, San Francisco

SF AI & Democracy Unconference
April 25

SF AI & Democracy Unconference

A dynamic unconference to connect, sensemake, and build towards collective action — exploring how we navigate AI’s risks to democratic life while turning this into a slingshot moment for democracy revival and human flourishing.

What’s an unconference, and why this format?

An unconference is a dynamic gathering approach where the participants co-create the agenda at the start of the event, with an emphasis on participatory discussions more than presentations or panels. This approach makes vastly better use of the capabilities, intellect, and creativity of the participants than traditional conference formats.

This unconference is designed to help us:

  • Connect with each other, and strengthen our communities of shared interests.
  • Make sense of the fuzzy situation we’re in, what’s going on, and what we can do about it.
  • Identify pathways for action, things we can do that can have an impact.

We’ll invite sessions to be action/solution-oriented, with a notetaker in each to share findings for collective harvesting. There will also be a limited number of “framing lightning talks” to help us learn, reflect, and envision the next phase of our democracy. If you’re interested in sharing a lightning talk or other content offering, please fill out the Speaker / Presenter Interest Form.

Agenda

April 25 · Frontier Tower, 995 Market St, San Francisco

9:00 am
Coffee + snacks + connection time
Get settled, grab a coffee, meet some people.
10:00 am
Kickoff, opening circle & lightning talks
Rapid-fire framing talks from speakers across SF City Government, UC Berkeley, One Fair Wage, Indivisible, StopAI, Hope for Democracy, Bloom Project / Engaged California, Frontier Tower, and more.
11am – 4pm
Unconference rounds + lunch
Participant-led sessions co-created at the start of the event. Action-oriented, notetaker in each session, findings harvested collectively.
4:00 pm
Harvest, closing circle & announcements
What did we learn? What are we committing to? What’s next?
💃🪩🕺🏽
Bonus! “Joy as Resistance” happy hour dance party, 5–8pm — everyone registered for the unconference is automatically in. Party-only registration here →

Lightning Talk Speakers

We have rapid-fire lightning talk speakers joining us from across the Bay Area and beyond — each bringing a different angle on the AI & democracy moment we’re in, and what we can do about it.

Interested in sharing a lightning talk yourself? Fill out the Speaker / Presenter Interest Form.

SF City GovernmentLocal democracy & civic leadership
UC BerkeleyResearch & academia
One Fair WageEconomic justice & worker power
IndivisibleGrassroots organizing
StopAIAI accountability & risk
Hope for DemocracyDemocracy startup
Bloom Project / Engaged CaliforniaCivic engagement
Frontier TowerCommunity & innovation hub
+ more to be announcedStay tuned

Join as
a Partner

Let’s build America’s Next Democracy together.
Become a partner →

“Whatever you care about most – climate, housing, healthcare, education, economic justice – there’s one thing all of those have in common. Every single one of them requires us to work together. And right now, that’s exactly what’s at risk. Democracy is the solution, and we need to build and sustain that, together.”

Todd Erickson
Todd Erickson
Principal, Collaboration Arts · Partner, Community Dialogue Partners · Founding Member, East Bay Civic Hub

“There are hundreds of amazing civic initiatives around the country. People want a thriving society with high levels of trust locally and nationally. Join us at Build our Next Democracy, and let’s figure out how to do this at scale.”

Joan Blades
Joan Blades

“This isn’t a time for shouting from the sidelines. There’s no time for that. If you care about the future of humanity, get involved in building it. Join us at Next Democracy and at Frontier Tower, and let’s build that human-centered future together.”

Devinder
Devinder
AI for Human Progress

“We as citizens have so much more ability to influence our shared destiny than most of us appreciate. We need to remind ourselves that we are the overseers of our democracy, that we need to reassert ourselves in that role. Join us at the Next Democracy Unconference as we connect, learn, set plans to do that.”

David Munir Nabti
David Munir Nabti
Co-founder, NextDemocracy.us and Bloom.pm

The Democracy Unconference is cyclical, and coming to a town near you.

There's no time to waste, we have important work to do, and one-off events (or annual events) won't get it done.

We're planning to do more Democracy Unconferences, Hackathons, Accelerators, Citizen Assemblies, Citizen-Led Candidate Debates, and otherwise both in the SF Bay Area, online, and with partners elsewhere in the US. If you're interested in joining or collaborating, please fill out the General Interest Form and we'll follow up with you.

Other Initiatives

To revitalize American democracy for all of us, current and future generations. If you're interested in learning more or collaborating on these issues, please fill out the General Interest Form, or sign up for the newsletter to get updates.

Democracy Hackathon

Democracy Hackathon & Accelerator/Incubator

Providing mentorship, community support, and visibility to organizations working to preserve and strengthen democracy. Sign up as a mentor, or apply for support via the General Interest Form.

Democracy Weeks

Democracy Week(s)

Fostering a renewed sense of civic engagement and civic joy.

Citizen Assemblies

Citizen Assemblies & Citizen-Led Candidate Debates

Bringing together citizens, civic organizations, and public servants to strengthen community ties, refine our requests to the government, and boost public sector accountability to citizen's needs.

Lu.ma/democracy — a shared calendar for democracy events nationwide

Improving visibility for all things democracy related, nationwide. Feel free to add your events there, and let's support the great things that people across the country, and across the political spectrum, are doing to protect and strengthen our democracy.

View Calendar →

Questions or partnership inquiries?

Get in touch