Nonprofit Quarterly
By Jennifer Johnson
July 25, 2025
As an industry being developed largely within the private, for-profit sector and with little regulation, the governance of artificial intelligence —the values, norms, policies, and safeguards that comprise industry standards—has been left in the hands of a relative few whose decisions have the potential to impact the lives of many.
And if this leadership lacks representation from the communities affected by automated decision-making, particularly marginalized communities, then the technology could be making the issue of inequity worse, not better.
So say various legal experts, executives, and nonprofit leaders who spoke with NPQ about the future of “AI governance” and the critical role nonprofits and advocacy groups can and must play to ensure AI reflects equity, and not exclusion.
A Lack of Oversight
The potential for AI to influence or even change society, in ways anticipated and not, is increasingly clear to scholars. Yet, these technologies are being developed in much the same way as conventional software platforms—rather than powerful, potentially dangerous technologies that require serious, considered governance and oversight.
Several experts who spoke to NPQ didn’t mince words about the lack of such governance and oversight in AI.
“Advancements are being driven by profit motives rather than a vision for public good.”
“There is no AI governance standard or law at the US federal government level,” said Jeff Le, managing principal at 100 Mile Strategies and a fellow at George Mason University’s National Security Institute. He is also a former deputy cabinet secretary for the State of California, where he led the cyber, AI, and emerging tech portfolios, among others.
While Le cited a few state laws, including the Colorado Artificial Intelligence Act and the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, he noted that there are currently few consumer protections or privacy safeguards in place to prevent the misuse of personal data by large language models (LLMs).
Le and other experts believe nonprofits and community groups play a critical role in the path forward, but organizations leading the charge must focus on community value and education of the public.
Profit Motives Versus Public Good
The speed at which AI capabilities are being developed, and the fact that it is being developed mostly in the private sector and with little regulation, has left public oversight and considerations like equity, accountability, and representation far behind, notes Ana Patricia Muñoz, executive director of the International Budget Partnership, a leading nonprofit organization promoting more equitable management of public money.
The people most affected by these technologies, particularly those in historically marginalized communities, have little to no say in how AI tools are designed, governed, and deployed.
“Advancements are being driven by profit motives rather than a vision for public good,” said Muñoz. “That is why AI needs to be treated like a public good with public investment and public accountability baked in from the moment an AI tool is designed through to its implementation.”
This is an excerpt of a July 25, 2025 article in NonProfit Quarterly. Read the full article here