Kevin De Liban
@kevindeliban.bsky.social
founder @techtonicjustice.bsky.social | defeated Medicaid care-cutting algorithm | legal aid lawyer | rapper | economic + racial + AI justice | sci-fi + fantasy | Warriors | he/him
Learn more of how AI harms low-income people: techtonicjustice.org
Learn more of how AI harms low-income people: techtonicjustice.org
Pinned
Kevin De Liban
@kevindeliban.bsky.social
· Nov 26
Here's our basic ethos about do-gooding: Do right by people because you're not gonna wear us out, you're not gonna outwork us, we're not going away, we're smarter than you, and we're coming for you.
I said this several years ago and feel it even more deeply now after fighting various other battles and becoming a dad.
Insights on the flailing AI industry from the inimitable folks at @ainowinstitute.bsky.social!
This week Open AI walked back a call for the govt to backstop financing for its trillion dollar investments in data centers. This was only the tip of the iceberg; a slow bailout for AI firms is already underway. Read more from @ambakak.bsky.social and I in @wsj.com: www.wsj.com/opinion/you-...
Opinion | You May Already Be Bailing Out the AI Business
Washington is treating the industry as if it’s too big to fail, even as the market sends lukewarm signals.
www.wsj.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Insights on the flailing AI industry from the inimitable folks at @ainowinstitute.bsky.social!
If you really want to see the nature of AI, look at what people use it for. Here, it's to justify denying people interpreters in courtrooms.
Powerful people routinely use AI to make life harder for people who don’t have as much power, particularly low-income folks, immigrants, and communities of color. Here, we see right-wing Wisconsin legislators using AI to justify racist “English-only” policies. 1/
Wisconsin lawmakers push to make English state's official language
MADISON, Wis. (WKBT) -- Wisconsin lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would designate English as the state's official language, a move that could place Wisconsin among more than 30
www.news8000.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you really want to see the nature of AI, look at what people use it for. Here, it's to justify denying people interpreters in courtrooms.
Care about AI justice? If you don’t already know about Clarence Okoh and the NOTICE Coalition, you should read this essay and find out!
Our teammate @clarenceokoh.bsky.social co-authored this wonderful essay about a fellowship program that the @noticecoalition.bsky.social created to imagine and enact freedom from the violence that AI is wreaking on marginalized communities, particulary Black youth. Read + share!
“No Data about Us without Us”: An Afrofuturist Reflection on Digital Liberation
Here, Chelsea Barabas and Clarence Okoh (a 2022 Just Tech Fellow) reflect on the work of the No Data about Us without Us Fellowship (NDAUWU), a program of the NOTICE Coalition: No Tech Criminalization...
just-tech.ssrc.org
October 8, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Care about AI justice? If you don’t already know about Clarence Okoh and the NOTICE Coalition, you should read this essay and find out!
Tired of trite “human-in-the-loop references?” We at @techtonicjustice.bsky.social, @upturn.org, and @nhelp.bsky.social partnered with CDT to blow up the concept + discuss what meaningful human oversight of AI use would really look like. Check it out!
🚨 New report: Authored by CDT’s Hannah Quay-de la Vallee & Benefits Tech Advocacy Hub’s @kevindeliban.bsky.social, “Rethinking the Loop: Encircling Public Benefits AI with Human Oversight” examines how AI in public benefits systems can cause harm and why human oversight is critical.
September 26, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Tired of trite “human-in-the-loop references?” We at @techtonicjustice.bsky.social, @upturn.org, and @nhelp.bsky.social partnered with CDT to blow up the concept + discuss what meaningful human oversight of AI use would really look like. Check it out!
Specialize in comms with a focus on digital organizing? Come work with me and our growing team at TechTonic Justice. You’ll be our sixth team member.
New Digital Manager job posting to build out our communications work w/ a focus on community engagement + organizing. Remote, 5+ years experience req’d, pays $75-$95K, great benefits, flexible schedule. Preference for person in the US South. Full details + application process below. Please share!
Digital Manager (for Organizing and Communications), fully remote, U.S. South preferred
TechTonic Justice is now hiring for the position of Digital Manager (for Organizing and Communications), fully remote, U.S. South preferred in Los Angeles. Apply today.
www.idealist.org
August 27, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Specialize in comms with a focus on digital organizing? Come work with me and our growing team at TechTonic Justice. You’ll be our sixth team member.
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
On this week's @onthemedia.bsky.social: @micahloewinger.bsky.social asking @beccalew.bsky.social about some of silicon valley's technocratic right-wing roots; Buckley and George Gilder to Marc Andreesen, Futurism to Fascism.
You might already know it, but i guarantee you know somebody who doesn't.
You might already know it, but i guarantee you know somebody who doesn't.
Silicon Valley's Rightwing Roots. Plus, the CEO of Bluesky Reimagines Social Media | On the Media | WNYC Studios
When Donald Trump returned to office, tech companies donated millions of dollars to his inaugural committee. On this week’s On the Media, the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley. Plus, ...
www.wnycstudios.org
August 16, 2025 at 5:08 PM
On this week's @onthemedia.bsky.social: @micahloewinger.bsky.social asking @beccalew.bsky.social about some of silicon valley's technocratic right-wing roots; Buckley and George Gilder to Marc Andreesen, Futurism to Fascism.
You might already know it, but i guarantee you know somebody who doesn't.
You might already know it, but i guarantee you know somebody who doesn't.
We just dropped a new guide to help slow down thoughtless AI adoption in nonprofit and government services. Read, share, and tell us how it might be better.
New resource from us: a critic's guide to deciding if AI is right for your organization. It's a punchy 5 pages of the right questions to ask before hopping on the AI hype train. /1
www.techtonicjustice.org/resources/de...
www.techtonicjustice.org/resources/de...
Decision Guide for Considering AI Use — TechTonic Justice
www.techtonicjustice.org
August 6, 2025 at 6:32 PM
We just dropped a new guide to help slow down thoughtless AI adoption in nonprofit and government services. Read, share, and tell us how it might be better.
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
Today is the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), without it, people with disabilities would not have equal access in all areas of public life. In 2025, the fight for accessibility is disrupted by the invisible hand of AI decisions. This is why TechTonic Justice was born.
July 26, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Today is the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), without it, people with disabilities would not have equal access in all areas of public life. In 2025, the fight for accessibility is disrupted by the invisible hand of AI decisions. This is why TechTonic Justice was born.
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
Read this interview with a personal hero, Professor @daniellecitron.bsky.social: "we have essentially presumed that data collection is a good...We have long ignored this important inclination that collection itself is endangering our privacy and civil liberties" www.politico.com/newsletters/...
5 questions for Danielle Citron
www.politico.com
July 26, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Read this interview with a personal hero, Professor @daniellecitron.bsky.social: "we have essentially presumed that data collection is a good...We have long ignored this important inclination that collection itself is endangering our privacy and civil liberties" www.politico.com/newsletters/...
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
Sun rising over hour 57 of our SIXTY hour Protect Medicaid Vigil. It’s been an honor & privilege to pull this event together with our incredible team & partners. I am exhausted, emboldened and so damn proud of the power we are showing as we hold those who cut Medicaid accountable.
July 26, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Sun rising over hour 57 of our SIXTY hour Protect Medicaid Vigil. It’s been an honor & privilege to pull this event together with our incredible team & partners. I am exhausted, emboldened and so damn proud of the power we are showing as we hold those who cut Medicaid accountable.
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
What Arkansas teaches us about Medicaid cuts coming to the rest of the nation. @kevindeliban.bsky.social of @techtonicjustice.bsky.social explains
youtu.be/isSvH6oX8TM?...
Bureaucratic hurdles are by design (& likely won’t pay for the infrastructure needed to build them).
youtu.be/isSvH6oX8TM?...
Bureaucratic hurdles are by design (& likely won’t pay for the infrastructure needed to build them).
Arkansas Lawyer on Medicaid Work Requirements: “Widespread Disaster & Chaos” | Amanpour and Company
YouTube video by Amanpour and Company
youtu.be
July 22, 2025 at 10:13 PM
What Arkansas teaches us about Medicaid cuts coming to the rest of the nation. @kevindeliban.bsky.social of @techtonicjustice.bsky.social explains
youtu.be/isSvH6oX8TM?...
Bureaucratic hurdles are by design (& likely won’t pay for the infrastructure needed to build them).
youtu.be/isSvH6oX8TM?...
Bureaucratic hurdles are by design (& likely won’t pay for the infrastructure needed to build them).
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
I’m busy enough without needing the new “hobby” of compulsively reloading my timeline to see the latest word from 8 different reporters about whether Medicaid might survive because some arcane Senate procedure keeps Republican leadership from buying off the vote of one Alaskan senator.
July 1, 2025 at 3:42 PM
I’m busy enough without needing the new “hobby” of compulsively reloading my timeline to see the latest word from 8 different reporters about whether Medicaid might survive because some arcane Senate procedure keeps Republican leadership from buying off the vote of one Alaskan senator.
Unlike Rep senators + reps lying on national media outlets, I actually dealt with Medicaid work requirements as a legal aid attorney when they caused mass chaos in 2018 in Arkansas. I wrote about it in this recent NYT OpEd. Any chance a major network would have me on to shed light + tell truth?
Opinion | We Saw Medicaid Work Requirements Up Close. You Don’t Want This Chaos.
www.nytimes.com
June 30, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Unlike Rep senators + reps lying on national media outlets, I actually dealt with Medicaid work requirements as a legal aid attorney when they caused mass chaos in 2018 in Arkansas. I wrote about it in this recent NYT OpEd. Any chance a major network would have me on to shed light + tell truth?
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
I am so damn excited to share my new book, Law and Technology: A Methodical Approach. Full of stories and priced at $40, this book explains why law finds technology so difficult to regulate, and what to do about it. global.oup.com/academic/pro...
June 29, 2025 at 11:48 PM
I am so damn excited to share my new book, Law and Technology: A Methodical Approach. Full of stories and priced at $40, this book explains why law finds technology so difficult to regulate, and what to do about it. global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
Highly recommend this piece by @kevindeliban.bsky.social and Trevor Hawkins.
Our future under the GOP medicaid paperwork requirements. (Gift link)
We Saw Medicaid Work Requirements Up Close. You Don’t Want This Chaos. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/o...
We Saw Medicaid Work Requirements Up Close. You Don’t Want This Chaos. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/o...
Opinion | We Saw Medicaid Work Requirements Up Close. You Don’t Want This Chaos.
www.nytimes.com
June 29, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Highly recommend this piece by @kevindeliban.bsky.social and Trevor Hawkins.
Urgent! The Senate is voting now (Sat. afternoon) on a huge bill to cut Medicaid + SNAP + to stop states from protecting their residents against the harms that AI inflicts.
Call your Republican senators—tell them to vote against the reconciliation bill. Contact info:
www.senate.gov/senators/sen...
Call your Republican senators—tell them to vote against the reconciliation bill. Contact info:
www.senate.gov/senators/sen...
U.S. Senate: Contacting U.S. Senators
www.senate.gov
June 28, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Urgent! The Senate is voting now (Sat. afternoon) on a huge bill to cut Medicaid + SNAP + to stop states from protecting their residents against the harms that AI inflicts.
Call your Republican senators—tell them to vote against the reconciliation bill. Contact info:
www.senate.gov/senators/sen...
Call your Republican senators—tell them to vote against the reconciliation bill. Contact info:
www.senate.gov/senators/sen...
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
The right-wing extremists on the Supreme Court just ruled to kill women today. That's what's going to happen. Elections matter.
In its assault on Planned Parenthood today, the Supreme Court gutted a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1871 providing enforcement of federal rights.
KBJ's dissent directly ties today's majority to the white supremacists who attacked civil rights during Reconstruction. slate.com/news-and-pol...
KBJ's dissent directly ties today's majority to the white supremacists who attacked civil rights during Reconstruction. slate.com/news-and-pol...
June 26, 2025 at 5:34 PM
The right-wing extremists on the Supreme Court just ruled to kill women today. That's what's going to happen. Elections matter.
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
CDT’s Elizabeth Laird in @npr.org on the Trump administration’s attempts to amass individuals’ sensitive information from databases at the State levels. www.npr.org/2025/06/...
June 26, 2025 at 5:32 PM
CDT’s Elizabeth Laird in @npr.org on the Trump administration’s attempts to amass individuals’ sensitive information from databases at the State levels. www.npr.org/2025/06/...
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
If you want to fund work defending Medicaid, donating to @littlelobbyists.com's (c)4 is the highest ROI I know of
We're flying more families in this week. If (and only if) you can afford to help pay to get more disabled kids into the offices of Senators:
secure.actblue.com/donate/littl...
We're flying more families in this week. If (and only if) you can afford to help pay to get more disabled kids into the offices of Senators:
secure.actblue.com/donate/littl...
I just gave to Little Lobbyists Action Network!
Show your support with a contribution.
secure.actblue.com
June 25, 2025 at 8:48 PM
If you want to fund work defending Medicaid, donating to @littlelobbyists.com's (c)4 is the highest ROI I know of
We're flying more families in this week. If (and only if) you can afford to help pay to get more disabled kids into the offices of Senators:
secure.actblue.com/donate/littl...
We're flying more families in this week. If (and only if) you can afford to help pay to get more disabled kids into the offices of Senators:
secure.actblue.com/donate/littl...
Come work with me at TechTonic Justice!
Reminder that we have three openings now: one paid, part-time internship for a Digital Content Creator (deadline this Friday) and two permanent full-time positions for an Experienced Attorney and Operations Manager (deadline 7/1). Details in thread.
June 16, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Come work with me at TechTonic Justice!
This past Sunday, my colleague Trevor + I published this OpEd in the NYTimes about imminent cuts to Medicaid. Up to 14 million people will lose insurance bc of penalties that punish working ppl, parents, + disabled ppl for not jumping through more hoops made of red tape. AI will make the cuts worse.
Opinion | We Saw Medicaid Work Requirements Up Close. You Don’t Want This Chaos.
www.nytimes.com
June 13, 2025 at 3:59 PM
This past Sunday, my colleague Trevor + I published this OpEd in the NYTimes about imminent cuts to Medicaid. Up to 14 million people will lose insurance bc of penalties that punish working ppl, parents, + disabled ppl for not jumping through more hoops made of red tape. AI will make the cuts worse.
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
Padilla: If this is how DHS responds to a senator with a question you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California.
June 12, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Padilla: If this is how DHS responds to a senator with a question you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California.
Reposted by Kevin De Liban
I spent some time at the site where protestors incinerated five Waymos—all lined up neatly in a row in downtown LA—and spoke to journalists, eyewitnesses and activists who were there.
This is how protestors weaponized Waymos and Lime scooters, and turned them into icons of the anti-ICE uprising
This is how protestors weaponized Waymos and Lime scooters, and turned them into icons of the anti-ICE uprising
The weaponization of Waymo
How protestors turned torched Waymos into icons of the anti-ICE demonstrations
www.bloodinthemachine.com
June 10, 2025 at 4:14 PM
I spent some time at the site where protestors incinerated five Waymos—all lined up neatly in a row in downtown LA—and spoke to journalists, eyewitnesses and activists who were there.
This is how protestors weaponized Waymos and Lime scooters, and turned them into icons of the anti-ICE uprising
This is how protestors weaponized Waymos and Lime scooters, and turned them into icons of the anti-ICE uprising
Hear me talk about AI, its impact on low-income people, and how it’s fueling the authoritarian moment. Today (Tuesday) at 12:30 pacific!
Come join us TODAY (Tuesday) at 12:30 pacific / 3:30 eastern to talk about AI and the ways people with power--government officials, landlords, employers, and others--use it in ways that harm low-income people and how TechTonic Justice is fighting back. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/.../reg.../W...
us02web.zoom.us
June 10, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Hear me talk about AI, its impact on low-income people, and how it’s fueling the authoritarian moment. Today (Tuesday) at 12:30 pacific!