May 6, 2025
Through the AI x Library Project, CNN commentator, activist and entrepreneur Van Jones and project co-leaders Inayah Bashir and Steven Pargett are ensuring Black and Brown communities have free, hands-on opportunities to learn the power of artificial intelligence.
Libraries have long been safe havens for knowledge, access, and community. Now, they are becoming launchpads for innovation. Through the AI x Library Project, CNN commentator, activist, and entrepreneur Van Jones and project co-leaders Inayah Bashir and Steven Pargett are ensuring Black and Brown communities have free, hands-on opportunities to learn the power of artificial intelligence.
Launched through the trio’s Dream Machine Innovation Lab in partnership with Google, the AI x Library Project is already impacting cities like Brooklyn and Atlanta, with plans to expand to Miami, Detroit, and Los Angeles.
“We don’t just want to consume technology — we want to create it, shape it, and lead it,” Jones said during an interview with Black Enterprise. “I think that AI is potentially the closest to reparations we’re ever gonna get, because it’s the first time in 400 years that we have literally equal access and equal opportunity to something transformational. What our project is about is being opportunity sensitive and making sure that we are in a conversation about equal access to the good stuff. When it comes to education, when it comes to health, when it comes to creativity, you’re giving the most creative culture in the world the most powerful tools for creativity ever imagined. And we think a lot of good things can happen if we take it seriously.”
Rather than focusing solely on the threats of AI, like algorithmic bias, Jones, Pargett, and Bashir are challenging communities to focus on opportunity. “Often Black folks are very threat-sensitive, and we go quickly into conversations about equal protection from bad stuff,” Jones said. “That’s important. But our project is about being opportunity-sensitive — making sure we’re also in the conversation about equal access to the good stuff.”
Libraries are the perfect entry point for this kind of democratized tech education. “The library has always been the civic hub for tech or anything else,” Bashir noted. “For people who are underserved or under-resourced, the library is where they first touch new technology. When computers came out, when the internet started, people went to libraries to learn.”
At each AI x Library workshop, participants can choose from topics like Marketing with AI, AI-Enhanced Writing, Smart Prompting, and The Future of Work. Importantly, local librarians help select which topics will be taught based on the needs of their patrons.
“We were looking for a way to bring this conversation to real communities,” Jones said. “There’s a lot happening online and at fancy conferences, but not much at the neighborhood level. Most neighborhoods still have a library. It’s a trusted place. That’s where we decided to go.”
The project has drawn participants as young as seven and as old as 70, creating an intergenerational learning environment. “Every workshop, we come up with at least three new business ideas,” Bashir shared. “In Atlanta, we had a mother who runs a homeschool collective. She said they were already using AI for curriculum planning — and even used AI to find our event.”
Other attendees include a waste management worker in Miami bringing his two sons to learn alongside him, and grandparents exploring AI tools for the first time. “It’s amazing seeing families learning together,” Bashir said. “The excitement is there — the creativity is there.”
Shifting Mindsets, Not Just Skill Sets
Unlike the digital divide in the 1990s, where access to software and hardware created barriers to entry, Jones believes the greatest obstacle our communities face today is mindset. “We don’t have a hardware problem anymore because everybody’s got a smartphone,” Jones said. “We don’t have a software problem because so much is free now. What we have is a ‘wetware’ problem. Our brains are not processing AI as something that’s for Black people. That has to change.”
Rather than viewing AI as a perfect, omnipotent tool, Jones encourages people to think of it as “a slightly dumb, but free, super-fast intern.” He explained, “Nothing is perfect — you have to check human work, and you have to check AI work. But would you rather correct something you get in two weeks, or correct something you get in two minutes?”
Bashir echoed this sentiment, reminding participants that everyone is engaging with AI for the first time at their own pace. “It’s Ok to take your time,” she said. “AI is like a treadmill — you can walk, jog, or sprint depending on what you’re ready for. The important thing is to get on it.”
Building Liberatory Innovation
Ultimately, the AI x Library Project is about more than just learning new tools — it’s about envisioning a better future.
“Liberatory innovation is not just about creating new technology and new systems — it’s about creating new freedoms,” Bashir explained. “Our brains, our communities, even our definitions of what it means to be human are changing. We have to stay conscious of how technology is shaping us.”
Jones stressed the urgency of diverse participation in tech. “When one small group tries to design civilization for everyone else, it doesn’t work out well,” he said. “We have a chance now to build something more human, more just — but only if everyone has a seat at the table.”
As Dream Machine looks to scale the AI x Library Project beyond its pilot cities, one thing is clear: the future of innovation is not just happening in Silicon Valley — it’s being built in neighborhood libraries, one workshop at a time.
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