New York, NY— Today, the AI Now Institute released a new report exploring how governments have used recent crises to pass a wave of water “relief” policies that not only expand the footprint of technology in the water domain, but also exacerbate water commodification, environmental racism, and economic extraction.

The use of technology - including artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, and other digital data systems - is rapidly expanding across the water domain. Since March 2020, governments and private entities have enacted a wave of water relief policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, depleting water supply, and economic crises. Many of these newly enacted policies exacerbate the harms and inequities caused by tech-driven water management, allocation, and distribution decisions.

The report's authors argue that these policies fail to address the most urgent and fundamental needs of water transitions and water futures, and these policies put a premium on extractive economic growth over water justice or equity.

"We're so thankful to the Ohio justices for ruling in the people's favor. Voters deserve fair, representative, and inclusive legislative maps that include all of our voices. Black, brown, and Muslim Ohioans have always been left out of the discussion around redistricting, and therefore it's our voices that must be centered in the conversation because our communities suffer the impact of gerrymandering on a day-to-day basis. Now the process starts over again, and over the next 10 days we will make sure our voices are fully heard and represented during this new process. With this ruling in our favor, we are confident that Ohio will become a more equitable place for all of us." - Jeniece Brock, OCRC vice-chair and Policy and Advocacy Director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative

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We are all grieving. For the loss of simply being able to hug friends and family; to gather at the local watering hole and share a drink with friends, old and new. We’re grieving the loss of routines and patterns of life, of normalcy.

I think we’ve moved past denial. Many of us are pissed off at the “stupid virus” as my grandson and I call it.

We’re all bargaining “I’ll wear my mask in the grocery store but not in the park.” Not that there’s any real entity to bargain with.

Depression? Oh yeah. We are all experiencing some level of depression: loss of “normal,” freedom, hugs!

Acceptance, I guess so. We all have a stash of face masks and hand sanitizer at the ready. We’re starting to accept that this virus will most likely be with us, in some form, for a long time to come. That is the new normal. For now.

So, where do we go from here? How do we move forward? Remember the quote from Emmanuel?

“Your life is not your master, it is your child.” The mirages of people’s minds become the reality of their lives, whether they have any conscious intention or not.

So, what DO you want in 2022?

Someone asked me the other day for advice on collecting the best essays of the past 20 years. I recommended the new collection of Glen Ford’s called The Black Agenda. I recommend it to everyone — including people who are not black. I’m not black.

Glen Ford was my friend and an ally in the struggles for peace and justice. He was a leader and a brilliant and an always reliable speaker, writer, and organizer on anti-racism, anti-oligarchy, anti-poverty, and anti-war work. He was a key part of efforts to impeach George W. Bush (whose record we should all read Glen’s book to be reminded of it seems).

This book is worthwhile just for the preface by Margaret Kimberley and the autobiographical introduction by Glen. I’ve considered Glen central to U.S. activism since about 2000, which seems a long time to me, yet his incredible saga, recounted in his introduction, actually breaks off just about when I met him. The essays, however, are from the past 20 years

Wednesday, January 12, 6pm, this on-line event requires advance registration

Join us for our monthly huddle for all Fair Districts volunteers. Catch up on Fair Districts news, current actions, what’s next for our #fairmaps advocacy. Bring your questions!

RSVP for this event by using this link.

Hosted by Common Cause Ohio and Fair Districts Coalition.