Mozilla has decided to focus on ‘better machine decision making’ as an ‘impact goal’ that will inform internet health fellowships, campaigns and thought leadership work in the internet health movement over the coming years.

The aim is to have a thematic goal with a clear theory of change that Mozilla and its allies can go after in a distributed, decentralized manner -- but with clear markers and milestones that allow everyone to see progress. This goal will build on the “your data and you” theme that Mozilla used in 2018. As with that theme, ~60% of Mozilla’s movement building program resources will go towards one goal over the next few years.

This wiki is meant to house Mozilla's up-to-date thinking and will be regularly updated. What follows is a list of the key documents that inform this thinking as well as the why, what and how of following through on it.

Project documentation

These documents provide the underlying thinking about better machine decision making as a core issue and maps activities in 2019 that will track against this issue.

Updated better machine decision making issue brief (February 2019)
2019 current and planned activities (February 2019)

Posts and articles

As a part of this work, Mozilla has been sharing thinking as it develops -- through blogs and in the media. Others are invited to share their perspectives on this issue as well.

Orlando All Hands talks on ‘better machine decision making (December 2018)
"How to keep AI from turning into the Terminator" CNN Article
Blog post, "Improving Internet Health: What (and How) Can We Win Together?" Initial Blog Post
"Slowing Down, Asking Questions, Looking Ahead" Subsequent better machine decision making Blog Post

Active Projects

Some examples of activities in this space include:

Literature review on better machine decision making (February 2019)
Responsible CS Challenge?
What else?

You can read more about these projects and more here.

Process and project management

These documents are process based and help share the story of how Mozilla got to this goal and why.

Impact goal summary (November 2018)
Better machine decision making issue brief (November 2018) https://mzl.la/IssueBriefv01
Existing MoFo Theory of Change (January 2018)

Sub things might be: - how we got to this focus - impact goal 2019 project timeline

Why

Artificial intelligence (AI) has long occupied an outsized role in our collective imagination, in everything from pulp science fiction novels to James Cameron blockbusters. Perhaps humankind is moving toward an oppressive artificial superintelligence. In the meantime, artificial intelligence is already woven into our everyday lives. It provides us with things we love and need, from productivity advice to movie recommendations. Yet, when we don't carefully consider its impact on our democracies, our justice systems and our well-being, we open ourselves up to real risks.

Mozilla seeks to be a part of this careful consideration. The last three years have been about creating a solid foundation of work - defining the internet health frame, clear program offerings, and an effective planning/execution process. With that work nearing completion, it is time to point Mozilla's resources at answering the question, "What concrete improvements to the health of the internet do we want to make over the next 3-5 years?"

Based on extensive engagement with staff, allies, experts and the board, it has been decided that ‘better machine decision making’ is the area to focus on. This goal was chosen because of the belief that it can:

Leverage the ‘agenda setting’ influence by asking tough questions about AI and adding nuance and specificity to the public debate.
Focus work in an area of further impact, leveraging the work started across all program areas over the past three years.
Increase the number and quality of collaborations across Mozilla and the internet health movement by helping define specific areas to work with others to have impact.
Help reach more people through messages and calls to action by increasing the clarity, specificity and relevance of the messages.
Offer clear milestones and outputs to measure and report out on progress against the intended impact along the way.

What

In the first phase, we explored a wide range of potential impact goals through staff engagement, external interviews and board discussions. Further information on Phase One is available below and through the key documents links.

Phase two of the impact project is designed to drive towards more specificity around the work and outcomes we’ll take on in pursuit of this goal.

The goals of phase two are as follows:

Build on efforts already underway by staff and partners within the internet health movement.
Clearly define the kind of impact we want to have over the coming years with a compelling sketch in early Q1 and an updated theory of change in Q2.
Refine the language around ‘better machine decision making,’ crafting a compelling, specific vision of an alternative, positive future.
Identify key partners and allies to work with on this topic, and start to define shared outcomes and projects that we can pursue together in H2.
Provide the raw material for initial public messaging about ‘better machine decision making,’with the aim of communicating on this issue starting in Q1.

We will go after these goals in an open and collaborative manner, engaging staff, allies, partners and supporters as we define the issues we’ll focus on over the coming years -- and, of course looking for ways to advance the work together as we put this focus into action.

Open Collaboration

More to come on this section in March

Background Work

What is an impact goal?

A specific ambition to measure and focus Mozilla Foundation's internet health programs over the next few years.

Using the model we started in 2018 with the ‘your data and you’ theme, we will point 50 - 60% of fellows, campaigns and other program resources at this goal.

A strong impact goal has four key qualities. It’s audacious, tackling the big issues of the day at a high level. It’s concrete, describing specific, tangible change. It’s targeted, describing the key players involved. And it’s inspirational, motivating us to roll up our sleeves and make it happen. In short: Mozilla’s impact goal should be ambitious but attainable, and have the potential to send positive ripples across millions of users’ online lives.

History

As we look at the next few years of Mozilla’s work, it’s time to begin mapping our course forward. The last three years have been about creating a solid foundation for our work - the internet health frame, clear program offerings, and an effective planning/execution process.

Looking forward, it’s critical that we use this strong foundation to focus on a specific set of outcomes that we can design and measure our progress against. Internet health remains a critical articulation of the broad change we’re seeking in the world. Now, it’s critical we also answer the question, “What concrete improvements to the health of the internet do we want to make over the next 3-5 years?”

Since we launched the “your data & you” theme in 2018, there’s been positive feedback about the value of a theme and the broad topic area of data, as well as a request for us to continue to invest in this area beyond 2018. At the same time, staff, external partners and funders have urged us to be more specific about what this investment focus on data means for our work and our intended outcomes.

Three reasons we want an impact goal:

Focus and measure the impact of our internet health programs.
Galvanize allies by giving us something concrete to work on together.
Shift narrative from ‘fear’ to ‘ambition’ -- and, eventually, ‘winning’.

Goal of this project

The Impact project is designed to answer the question, “What concrete improvements to the health of the internet do we want to make over the next 3-5 years?” through a transparent, participatory process involving staff and external experts/partners. The specific goals of this project include:

Crafting a compelling, specific vision of an alternative, positive future that builds on the current “your data and you” theme

Defining a set of specific goals to achieve that impact through clear milestones we can design and measure against

Developing a set of messages for the related target audience/s that we can begin to test and further refine

Mapping our theory of change against this vision so each existing program is set up to drive impact

We will go after these goals in an open and collaborative manner, engaging our allies, partners and supporters as we define the issues we’ll focus on over the coming years -- and, of course looking, for ways to work together as we put this focus into action.

The outcomes of this work, including discussions with the board, will be used as part of our 2019+ strategic plan, with the expectation ~60% of resources towards a common goal developed through this process and maintain ~40% work on a long tail of internet health issues.

Criteria

Ambition: importance and scale

Will this work have a real and meaningful impact on internet health?
Does it have the potential for a ‘domino effect’ that unlocks secondary impacts?
Will this impact be felt widely, either in terms of total number of people impacted or parts of the world that benefit?

Winability: likelihood of success

Can we identify specific areas where we are likely to succeed?
What are the dependencies to success? How many of these dependencies might we control or have influence over?
Would limited success still be valuable and if so, how?

Momentum: some of our allies are already pursuing this goal

Are others already making progress on some aspect of this problem?
Who else needs to win for us to win? Are they already working on this?
Are there things Mozilla could do to increase momentum or help unlock success in this area?

Resonance: current and potential resonance with public

Is this an issue the public is already aware of? If so, who and in what geography?
Are we addressing core concerns or values people have about life online?
Is this issue likely to have broad public appeal?

Fit: leverages Mozilla’s brand, expertise and programs

Does this work advance the principles of the Mozilla Manifesto?
Can Mozilla bring a unique perspective, expertise or resources to this issue?
Could existing staff, fellows and initiatives contribute significantly?
Do we know where or how to leverage expertise around this work in places where we don’t have it already?
Is this work likely to attract new allies, volunteers and community?

Possible Impact Goals

From July - November 2018 we worked with MoFo staff, fellows and partners to generate over a dozen options for impact goals, which were then narrowed down to four. The impact goal we chose is:

Better machine decision making: we understand when machines are making decisions for us. We work alongside them and have a way to fix mistakes.

The three additional impact goal options we explored included:

Online ad economy: what we click on, look at or buy online isn’t used to influence or manipulate our behaviour without our consent.
Respect online: women or gender minorities are not afraid when they share opinions, ideas, or content online.
Digital bodies: we all control the digital copies of our face, voice and DNA.

You can see a more detailed brief that runs each of these options against the criteria here.

Selected impact goal: Better Machine Decision Making