A program by SSCF.ORG
Community discussion sessions on AI, its limitations, and how to build with it
SSCF's AI Literacy Program is a community-centered program that helps participants understand how artificial intelligence works, how it can fail, and how it can be used responsibly. While much of AI literacy has focused on individual productivity, that approach depends on two major assumptions: (1) users can independently validate what the tool produces, and (2) the consequences of an AI-produced error are minimal.
This program responds to the gaps those assumptions create, especially for communities often left as consumers of AI rather than auditors or builders. It trains participants to critically evaluate AI outputs, understand how they are produced, know what to check before trusting them, and build tools safely and responsibly.
Upcoming summer sessions
* Sessions in English and Spanish have different dates. See the Spanish page for those dates.
Session times: 5:00pm to 6:00pm In person; 6:30pm to 7:30pm Online. Session days: Wednesdays.
Jul
Session 01
1
5:00pm to 6:00pm · In person
6:30pm to 7:30pm · Online
Jul
Session 02
8
5:00pm to 6:00pm · In person
6:30pm to 7:30pm · Online
Jul
Session 03
15
5:00pm to 6:00pm · In person
6:30pm to 7:30pm · Online
Jul
Session 04
22
5:00pm to 6:00pm · In person
6:30pm to 7:30pm · Online
Jul
Session 05
29
5:00pm to 6:00pm · In person
6:30pm to 7:30pm · Online
What is this program about?
Session by session
This program is not about using AI more efficiently, and it is not a pitch to adopt AI. It is about understanding how it works, where it fails, and how you can use these tools to serve your community if you are curious about them, and how to build with them responsibly. Here is what the five sessions cover.
Session 1
From consumers to auditors
Session 1 covers why AI tools that work well for some people fail others, and what that costs on two fronts: the harm to the person the tool fails, and the water, energy, and raw materials the models consume to begin with. We also explore why some failures are so hard to catch, starting with the cognitive biases we bring to every interaction before touching any model, the groundwork for the auditor mindset.
Session 2
When AI fails: cases and patterns
Session 2 looks at the other side of Session 1: failures that originate in the models themselves, independent of the user. It covers documented behaviors that even the people who built these systems did not predict, and closes with a proposal of basic standards for building tools that account for those failures, setting the foundation for the builder mindset.
Session 3
How LLMs work: under the hood
Session 3 gets into the mechanics of how these models process information, understand language, and the limitations that come with them. With that foundation, the earlier discussions start to have technical sense. The session also addresses limits that can be mitigated but not fully eliminated, and what that means for the auditor/builder mindset.
Session 4
Agentic AI: collaboration or automation?
Session 4 introduces agentic AI as a way for systems to move beyond simple responses and support multi-step goals using tools and actions. This session proposes the use of AI agents as a way to augment community work rather than replacement, especially when they are designed within the communities they serve while studying real world examples in legal aid, benefits navigation, and agriculture.
Session 5
From consumers to builders
Session 5 serves as a celebration and review of the most critical ideas and concepts, and ends with a discussion on how to remain up to date. Those who want to keep going can stay on as builders and use AI to build solutions to real community problems, with support and a stipend upon completion and deployment.
After the sessions
Stay on: build, lead, network, volunteer
After the cohort ends the door stays open, and you are welcome to stay on as a builder, volunteer for future cohorts, contribute to curriculum, invitations to networking events, conferences, and community-building opportunities all around the Bay Area. However you want to stay involved, there is a place for you here.