How civil society adapts to AI and surveillance ^{CEFR B2}

In April 2026 Global Voices published a Spotlight series on human perspectives on AI. As part of a related project, the International Resource for Impact and Storytelling (IRIS), with support from Luminate and the Open Society Foundations, commissioned ten case studies from organisations and researchers across the Global Majority. The studies come from Latin America and the Caribbean, the Arab region, Nigeria, Tunisia, India and Hong Kong.

The research groups civil society responses into three broad strategies: Co‑opting, Countering and Innovating. Co‑opting involves working with technology and culture to further political goals — for example, Fogo Cruzado in Brazil is collaborating with the Future Narratives Lab to use AI to test messages that reduce public support for police violence in favelas. Countering covers resistance to surveillance and digital harms, as when Derechos Digitales campaigns against widespread use of facial recognition. Innovating describes new storytelling and engagement forms; Alharaca, a group of feminist journalists from El Salvador in exile, experiments with offline gatherings, board games and immersive sound installations, while activists in Hong Kong use humour, coded language and short‑lived organisations to evade pervasive surveillance.

The studies also describe two spatial moves: a turn to the hyperlocal to centre grassroots voices and avoid national scrutiny, and stronger cross‑border links to share lessons and build solidarity. Flexibility and ephemeral infrastructures — micro‑groups, informal collectives, rotating convenors and volunteer networks — are common, and authors argue funders should support that agility so groups can anticipate and pivot quickly.

Finally, the research emphasises networks and the interaction of narrative, technology and politics. No single organisation can do everything, so decentralised alliances, technical help and sustained funding for what the Polis Project calls the “infrastructure of resistance” are key. Despite serious risks from surveillance and concentrated power, the case studies show social justice actors adapting tools and culture to build people power for democracy and rights. Brett Davidson is founder and principal at Wingseed LLC and works with IRIS as lead for narrative infrastructure building.