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EqualAI Spring 2026 Newsletter

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Happy Spring to our EqualAI community! As always, we are happy to share with you a few updates, relevant headlines, and dates to hold during this busy and impactful season.

As the AI landscape continues to evolve at a breakneck pace, the EqualAI team has been actively tracking and supporting these developments on the ground. We closed out February with a successful AI Literacy Initiative Event in partnership with Arizona State University, where we were “Flipping the Script on AI” by examining how AI can be designed and deployed in ways that reinforce communities and industries most susceptible to this technological change. It was energizing to connect and spotlight the important work of local leaders and educators, underscoring the importance of AI literacy and its connection to our broader national goal: ensuring that all communities can benefit from AI and the opportunities this technology can unlock.

Through our AI Literacy initiative, EqualAI is bringing together leaders, policymakers, industry experts, and community voices from across the country to understand AI’s real-world impacts, share best practices, and advance AI literacy across sectors, regions, and communities. Visit EqualAI’s AI Literacy Initiative to learn more and get involved.

Additionally, our team has participated in several impactful convenings, each of which highlighted the importance of grounding our AI conversations in human connection. In March, Miriam spoke at the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Annual Summit in San Francisco to discuss how HR leaders play a key role in facilitating human-centered AI adoption and deployment. Miriam also spoke at the World Bank to underscore the key role global institutions play in human-centered AI adoption. At the end of the month, our team discussed the importance of AI governance and detailed what best practices could look like at the annual Georgetown University Women’s Summit. Miriam enjoyed speaking about the critical role of trust in AI governance at the ASU+GSV Summit, the largest EdTech Summit in the country. 

On In AI We Trust?, we were thrilled to welcome Robbie Torney, Head of AI & Digital Assessments at Common Sense Media, back to the podcast to provide updates on the state of AI and its impact on children and families ahead of Common Sense Media’s Annual Summit. We also had insightful conversations about innovative approaches to AI literacy with Dr. Chris Howard, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ASU and Deborah Quazzo, Managing Partner of GSV Ventures and Co-Founder of the ASU+GSV Summit. Expect future conversations to discuss the Department of Labor’s new AI Literacy Campaign — make sure to tune in to these insightful conversations.

We are grateful for your continued support and we look forward to connecting with you at EqualAI’s upcoming convenings, events, and programs (see below for more information).

– The EqualAI Team

EqualAI President and CEO, Miriam Vogel, speaking at the World Bank Group’s Data Privacy Day in Washington, D.C., alongside Katie Race Brin, World Bank Chief Data Privacy Officer.

Key AI-Related Headlines this Month 

Stay up-to-date on the AI policy, news, and research our team is reading from this past month with the headlines below.

Employment landscape continues to shift around AI adoption, demand for AI skills 

    • Brookings Institute. How AI may reshape career pathways to better jobs. Apr. 2, 2026.
      Brookings predicts that “AI’s workplace impacts to any given occupation will not be felt in isolation. Rather, AI systems will likely impinge broadly on entire pathways containing millions of jobs.” While media can tend to focus on the displacement of college graduates with four-year degrees, this article acknowledges that over 15 million workers without four-year degrees hold jobs that are highly exposed to AI. Consequently, AI is poised to erode pathways workers have traditionally used to transition from low wage work to high wage work. 

    • U.S. Department of Labor. U.S. Department of Labor Launches ‘Make America AI-Ready’ Initiative. Mar. 25, 2026.
      The U.S. DoL recently announced the launch of their “Make American AI-Ready” campaign, which includes a free AI literacy course to help American workers learn the basics of AI. in seven days by engaging for just 10 minutes a day. The text message-based design is intended to be as accessible to all Americans, including those without a laptop or with limited access to the internet. We tried it by texting “READY” to 20202! See EqualAI’s post about the course here.

States remain active on legislation, implementing AI policies and best practices

    • ComputerWorld. California to bar AI vendors that can’t prove bias safeguards. Mar. 31, 2026.
      AI vendors selling to the California state government must prove they have safeguards against algorithmic bias, civil rights violations, and illegal content, or risk being barred from state contracts under an executive order signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. 

    • Forbes. 5 Lessons from NYC Schools’ New Guidance on AI. Mar. 25, 2026.
      The NYC Public Schools, the largest school district in the country, formally released their guidance on AI use in the classroom. The guidance includes cases that are entirely off limits,such as making decisions about student grades, placement, discipline, promotions and providing counseling. The guidelines also account for differentiation between AI being used by and for teachers and AI being used for students’ learning, and acknowledges the importance of integrating transparency and governance into the evolving AI-for-schools framework. 

AI continues to transform arts, media and entertainment landscape 

    • NBC10 Boston. Berklee lab lets students explore AI in music as industry evolves. Apr. 2, 2026. 
      Berklee School of Music recently launched an innovation hub to encourage students to experiment with AI in music composition and production. In June, the school plans to host an AI Music Summit, which will explore ethical questions surrounding AI,creativity, and the future of the music industry.