August 9, 2023 — Our response to the National Science Foundation’s RFI highlights the benefits that a public interest, sociotechnically oriented Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) would bring to the American public and the AI ecosystem.

For too long, technological development has unfolded with little regard for protecting and uplifting the American people, especially communities subjected to stigmatization, economic disinvestment, and systemic discrimination. Our recommendations aim to center the public interest in TIP’s year 1–3 roadmap and enable our algorithmic accountability ecosystem to have lasting positive impact. By supporting translational research, innovation, and partnerships that advance the public interest and societal goals of equity, inclusion, access, and justice — and by centering sociotechnical research in all its projects — TIP has the potential to impact the future of algorithmic accountability in the US and abroad.