Project Liberty

On CNN’s Terms of Service podcast, Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt sat down with Clare Duffy to discuss the future of the internet, the TikTok bid, and how AI is transforming the digital landscape. Frank explains why we founded Project Liberty six years ago–to address a fundamental imbalance of power in our digital world: “The policy-making apparatus in this country is no match for the speed, the power, the wealth, and the brute force of this internet technology and of big tech.” As we move from an app-centric to an agentic web, the stakes grow higher. When people interact with AI chatbots, they’re revealing deeply personal information–thoughts, feelings, relationships–that becomes incredibly valuable to the platforms collecting it. Frank warns that such data must remain in our control: “Think of your data as both a human right and a property right. It is who you are, nobody should own you, and it's very valuable.” Project Liberty envisions a new model for the internet, where people own their data, interact through sovereign AI agents, and participate in a digital economy built on trust, not surveillance. 🔗 Listen to the full conversation with CNN’s Clare Duffy on Terms of Service: https://lnkd.in/eafR9H_r #ProjectLiberty #AI #DigitalGovernance #DataOwnership #FrankMcCourt #TermsOfServicePodcast #CNN

At KOREA BLOCKCHAIN WEEK, I was honored to join mainstage with Chair Caroline D. Pham of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP partner Matthew C. Solomon to discuss “Why Crypto Policy Around the World Is Rapidly Changing,” moderated by Fortune’s Leo Schwartz. We had a lively and wide-ranging conversation covering jurisdictional differences, cutting edge innovation, and the future of the industry both in the US, Korea, and elsewhere. Thanks for having me! While in Seoul, I also had the honor of recording podcasts at Frequency House with Yesha Yadav Jason Gottlieb Jack O'Holleran Yat Siu and catching up with so many friends and colleagues. Touching down in South Korea, which was ahead of the curve on crypto before much of the rest of the world even caught on, always inspires me. Grateful to the team and organizers for having me! Alex Poscente Úrsula O'Kuinghttons Sumedha Deshmukh, PhD Claire Kivior Diego Lizarazo Braxton Woodham

At this year’s A Day of Unreasonable Conversation at The Getty Center in Los Angeles, Project Liberty’s President, Tomicah Tillemann, joined Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michele Lawrence Jawando for a powerful discussion on how artificial intelligence can reflect–rather than distort–our collective creativity and values. The session, “What If AI Is the Muse and We Are the Machine?”, explored how human choices around ownership, dignity, and accountability will determine whether AI serves as a tool for empowerment or exploitation. Tomicah Tillemann highlighted Project Liberty’s work to rebuild the digital infrastructure so that people–not platforms–own their identities and data, ensuring that creative expression and digital governance serve democratic purpose over corporate capture. A Day of Unreasonable Conversation convenes leading voices in entertainment and social impact to examine the narratives shaping our shared future. At Project Liberty, we believe the future of AI and creativity depends on the same foundation: human agency. Together with innovators, policymakers, and creators, we’re building a people-centered digital world where everyone has a voice, choice, and stake. 📸 Lindsay Rosenberg & Maya Joan #ProjectLiberty #AIDebate #DigitalGovernance #CreativeRights #DataDignity #UnreasonableConversation

Last week in Barcelona, Project Liberty Founder Frank McCourt and leaders from the Project Liberty Institute (Sheila Warren, Paul Fehlinger) joined over 1,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and changemakers at Norrsken Impact Week to tackle a defining question: How do we build an AI and data economy that advances human progress, not just technological progress? From the main stage to investor roundtables, our message was clear: AI and data are the infrastructure of markets. To build a fair and flourishing digital future, we must design systems where people have a voice, choice, and stake. As Sheila Warren, CEO of Project Liberty Institute, emphasized: "We aim to rewire the incentives and infrastructure of the digital economy so that AI and data become tools for empowerment and agency." 🔗 Read the full recap: https://lnkd.in/ezVuDX-C #ProjectLiberty #AIforGood #DigitalGovernance #ImpactInvestment #DataEconomy #TechforHumanity #AIGovernance #DataEconomy #ResponsibleAI

How do we build an AI future that maximizes human flourishing and human agency? That question drives much of our work at Project Liberty – and it was a key theme as I took the stage with friends and superstars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Omidyar Network President Michele Lawrence Jawando for A Day of Unreasonable Conversation in LA this week. Thanks to our hosts at Propper Daley x BPI, Invisible Hand, and The Getty Museum for helping us move closer to the answer... https://lnkd.in/eYNvZ46E

On the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York City, the Project Liberty Institute convened the first International Telecommunication Union & United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) official Digital UNGA affiliate sessions, titled Scalable Alternatives: Governance and Business Models for a Fair Data Economy. The event brought together policymakers, academics, civil society leaders, funders, and innovators who are actively building a people-centered digital future. This dialogue was made possible through the global effort and collaboration of the Global Solutions Initiative Aapti Institute, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, Data2X, Decentralization Research Center, and Data Privacy Brasil. The discussions featured global leaders shaping digital governance, including: -Ambassador Philip Thigo, MBS Office of the Special Envoy on Technology) -Astha Kapoor (Aapti Institute) -Doug O'BrienenNational Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) -Francesco S. United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies) -Gayan Peiris United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) -Jenna Slotin Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data) -Li Zho (United Nations Human Rightsts B-Tech Project) -Stefaan Verhulst, PhD (The GovLab) The economy runs on data, yet the value it generates remains concentrated in a few hands. As AI accelerates demand for higher-quality data, the urgency for systemic change in how data is governed and shared has never been greater. This session underscored a crucial insight: the current governance approach applies century-old cooperative principles to digital assets and government-led digital infrastructure, which was once designed for a very different world. The issue of scaling these models requires regulatory, financial, and cultural shifts.

In this Alliance Member Spotlight, we are highlighting Centre for Data Futures, King's College London The Centre for Data Futures is the first of its kind to focus on design and study of the effects of participatory infrastructure across the life cycle of data-reliant tools--from generation, through data empowerment structures, or interface design that incentivizes long-term, collective participation. This week, we spoke with Director of the Centre for Data Futures, King's College London, Sylvie Delacroix 🔗 Learn more about the Alliance and how your organization can get involved: https://lnkd.in/eDEdXZcs 🔗 Learn more about the Centre for Data Futures: https://lnkd.in/eVNs2gqa

Earlier this year, global research conducted by the Collective Intelligence Project (CIP) found that 58% of participants trust their chatbot to act in their best interests, compared to just 28% for elected officials. That gap is no longer just theoretical: In Albania, the government recently appointed the world’s first AI minister—not a human minister for AI, but an actual chatbot named Diella—underscoring how quickly these trust dynamics are moving from survey results into political reality. 🗞️ In this newsletter, we explore trust in the age of AI—where it’s placed, where it’s absent, and why it matters https://lnkd.in/eztsix69