Higher Education’s Free Speech vs. DEI Fights
Are Just the the Tip of the Iceberg
Colleges are simply the first and most visible casualty of
fundamentalist zealots on both sides.
But higher education’s insistence on clinging to outdated pre-digital curriculum is promoting unconstitutional and reactionary policies
that are hurting students, silencing faculty,
and jeopardizing everyone’s post-digital civic and civil rights.
The education industrial complex has no idea how to fix it.
And it created a culture that fired or censored anyone who could.
We are in the crisis moment for
higher education, free speech, & AI ethics.
2024 is the make or break year to fix this mess
- You have to solve the three crises at the same time.
- Your solutions have to be bi-partisan, multi-faith, and Constitutional.
- Your solutions have to be usable across many industries and disciplines.
- Your solutions have to be understandable for all communities.
It would take 20 years --
and leading experts across dozens of professions and academic niches --
to solve all of that.
Plus thousands of volunteer hours
to develop, pilot, and execute
proven solutions that were accepted by both liberals and conservatives.
And you’d probably want to test drive it with a major state university, a Bible college, and the wokest school in America.
So, lucky for you,
we already did all of that.
Thank you to our parTners
for proving that all Americans -- X, y, and Z -- can still come together to X, y and Z.
The IDH -- and maybe only the IDH -- has the solutions to fix it in time.
The Institute for Digital Humanity is a bipartisan, multi-faith,
free speech & digital ethics think-tank located in Minneapolis.
In less than 5 years, the IDH has become a recognized thought
leader among tech startups, educators, advocacy groups, and governments by building unprecedented educational and civic coalitions across the digital divide.
Our unique approach to free speech and digital ethics focuses on partnerships with diverse ideologies and empowering students.
And our free speech and higher education origin story is the narrative all Americans
need to hear right now.
An prominent AI ethics and First Amendment prof leaves liberal higher ed and becomes a ‘diversity hire’ at a Bible college to prove that free speech can bring the left and right -- and Christians, Muslims, and Jewish-Americans -- back together to fight for a just, free, and sane, post-digital world.
What does the IDH do?
Creates curriculum on digital ethics and technology.
Coordinates research -- non-partisan and
peer-reviewed -- on technology ethics.
Consults on pragmatic solutions for companies or
organizations with digital ethics or legal compliance issues.
Catalyzes civic engagement -- from media appearances to juried art exhibitions to PR campaigns -- to protect vulnerable post-digital citizens.
IDH Leadership Team
Dr. Aaron McKain |
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
- 20+ years in higher education entrepreneurship
focused on free speech digital ethics
- former speechwriter for Ohio State President during billion dollar fundraising campaign
- Co-founder and creative director, The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy, the Twin Cities’ premiere first amendment fueled art collective
- Co-founder, Commonplace (McGraw-Hill) networking thousands of students to fight disinformation
Thomas Freeman |
Research Director
- 15+ years as an attorney and professor
- Thought leader on how the practice of law will be
affected by technology
- Former Assistant Attorney General for Nebraska
IDH Faculty Leadership Team
Dr. Angie Raymond
- 20+ years in higher education entrepreneurship focused on free speech digital ethics
- former speechwriter for Ohio State President during billion dollar fundraising campaign
- Co-founder and creative director, The Institute for Aesthetic Advocacy, the Twin Cities’ premiere first amendment fueled art collective
- Co-founder, Commonplace (McGraw-Hill) networking thousands of students to fight disinformation
Dr. Mark Berkson
15+ years as an attorney and professor; thought leader on how the practice of law will be affected by technology; former Assistant Attorney General for Nebraska.
Part one: tHE bIG PICTURE
2024 IS THE MAKE OR Break year for our Country,
Classrooms, and Constitutional Rights.
If your solutions don’t Address All three,
your solutions are part of the problem
Free speech and the First Amendment
are at the heart of three existential threats to our constitutional norms and democratic institutions.
They are legally entangled, politically deadlocked,
and the courts are still playing catch-up.
We still have a small window of time to fix it
but we have to move fast.
And, once again, any solution -- legal or educational -- has to be:
- bi-partisan, multi-faith, & Constitutional.
- usable across all industries and disciplines.
- understandable to all communities, students, and citizens.
- comprehensive enough to asses free speech issues in the context of emerging hate speech, disinformation, ai ethics, and privacy complexities
Plus -- since higher education is going broke --
it has to seize this moment to
re-imagine civic education in the post-AI world
re-empower and re-recruit students
and re-establish a bond of trust between citizens and academia
so we can re-build our reality, political sanity, and common humanity before it is too late.
IDH Solutions for Attorneys, Administrators, and Policymakers
Trainings
Consulting, auditing & compliance
One holistic, non-partisan, and
award winning legal framework for the whole post-digital free speech mess.
Hate Speech I Algorithmic Bias and Censorship I Disinformation I Privacy & Surveillance
Interactive, experiential, and non-ideological digital ethics education. For attorneys, policymaker, administrators, advocates, programmers, and advocates
Thank you to our clients, allies, and partners:
Nebraska, Iowa, and American Bar Associations, Minnesota Legal Rights Center,
MN Human Rights Center, Minnesota Justice Research Center
Pragmatic solutions, communication strategies, and encodable frameworks.
For organizations, advocates, politicians, and attorneys serious about digital ethics or legal compliance.
Higher education is one of the most complex industries in America.
And post-digital First Amendment law and norms are in flux.
We can teach your entire faculty and/or legal team how to stay ahead of the curve and out of the courtroom.
Plus re-empower your students to make their own informed decisions about academic freedom and campus free speech.
(And we can position your brand to be a global leader in the fight for a just, free, and sane post-digital world.)
Plus re-empower your students to make their own informed decisions about academic freedom and campus free speech.
(And we can position your brand to be a global leader in the fight for a just, free, and sane post-digital world.)
NBC KARE-11 Minneapolis
NBC Affiliates Across the Country
Forbes I Omaha World Herald
Nebraska Public Television I Human Lawyer
Our Black News I Nebraska Lawyer
- Numerous conferences including Data Law and AI Research Colloquium, International Vincentian Business Ethics Conference, Midwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business, and the Transatlantic Dialogue on AI & Humanity.
- White papers, publications, and recently unembargoed articles on employment AI, predictive policing, facial recognition, data privacy, digital hate speech, and the First Amendment.
- Numerous conferences including Data Law and AI Research Colloquium, International Vincentian Business Ethics Conference, Midwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business, and the Transatlantic Dialogue on AI & Humanity.
- White papers, publications, and recently unembargoed articles on employment AI, predictive policing, facial recognition, data privacy, digital hate speech, and the First Amendment.
Blueprint
for a Creighton
Partnership
Colleges are simply the most visible casualty.
And victims of their pre-digital curricula.
Which makes them the easiest place to launch immediate solutions to bring citizens back together as we face the greatest civil rights and national security threats since the second World War.
want your schools to be a
global gold standard for free speech, digital citizenship, and tech ethics?
here’s why the idh is
the proven solution?
This is a ‘worst case scenario’ collision between code, culture, curriculum, & constitutional norms.
The free speech vs. DEI fight on our campuses is just a symptom.
Colleges are simply the first -- and most visible -- casualty of pre-digital curricula and fundamentalist zealots on both sides.
But if their solutions don’t account for changing technology -- code, culture, and constitutional rights -- they will actually make things worse.
put TV Clip here.
A blueprint to fix
ai ethics, free speech, and higher education
before it is too late.
2024 will be a make or break
year for our country.
And maybe your school.
We have been building proven, interdisciplinary, multi-faith, bi-partisan,
and cross-cultural solutions to this civil rights and national security crisis for twenty years.
Creighton Needs A Digital Ethics Education Solution
Why now? Why Creighton?
01.
Digital Ethics is the new technological gold rush. This modern “currency” is the key to a better future, but there is no engaging, student-centered, accessible curriculum that can equip students with the expertise they need to shape the future and put the digital power back in the hands of those it affects.
02.
Creighton’s reputation as a law school powerhouse and its Jesuit roots put it in a unique position to become a leader in digital ethics.
First, the big picture:
we are living in a long-predicted
“worst case scenario” collision course between
code, culture, and constitutional law.
And we got four big
-- and interconnected -- problems
Privacy & Digital Dignity
First, the big picture:
we are living in a long-predicted
“worst case scenario” collision course between
code, culture, and constitutional law.
And we got four big
-- and interconnected -- problems
Schools and colleges are simply the most visible casualty.
And were the first victims -- in the early 2000s --
of the zealots on both sides of the aisle.
Privacy & Digital Dignity
so the college ‘free speech’ crisis
is just the tip of the iceberg on an ecosystem of interconnected problems that are endangering our democratic norms and constitutional rights
Disinformation & Political Division
AI Ethics & Algorithmic Unreliability
Free Speech vs. Hate Speech Disputes
Privacy & Digital Dignity
so th
The college free speech crisis is just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s actually only a symptom of four
-- interconnected and politically deadlocked -- technological crises threatening our
civic institutions and constitutional rights.
Free Speech vs. Hate Speech Disputes
AI Ethics & Algorithmic Unreliability
Disinformation & Political Division
The college free speech crisis is just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s actually only a symptom of four
-- interconnected and politically deadlocked -- technological crises threatening our
civic institutions and constitutional rights.
Privacy & Digital Dignity
Part One: The problem
The college free speech crisis is just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s actually just a symptom of four
-- inescapably interconnected and politically deadlocked -- post-digital crises threatening our
civic institutions and constitutional rights.
Free Speech vs. Hate Speech Disputes
AI Ethics & Algorithmic Unreliability
Disinformation & Political Division
Privacy & Digital Dignity
problem one:
you have to solve four
-- inescpably interconneted
-existential threats to our civic institutions
and constitutional norms
Free Speech vs. Hate Speech Disputes
AI Ethics & Algorithmic Unreliability
Disinformation & Political Division
Privacy & Digital Dignity
You have to solve all four at once
problem two:
our current crisis is simply the long predicted
-- and inevitable --
collision between code, culture, and the constitution.
Colleges are simply the most visible casualty.
And victims of outdated curricula
and zealots on both sides of the aisle.
Your solutions have to be bi-partisan, multi-faith, & Constitutional.
Colleges are simply the most visible casualty.
And victims of their pre-digital curricula.
Which makes them the easiest place to launch immediate solutions to bring citizens back together as we face the greatest civil rights and national security threats since the second World War.
Colleges are simply the most visible casualty.
And victims of their pre-digital curricula.
Which makes them the easiest place to launch immediate solutions to bring citizens back together as we face the greatest civil rights and national security threats since the second World War.
Free Speech Vs. Hate Speech
AI Ethics & Algorithmic Unreliability
Disinformation & Political Division
Privacy & Digital Dignity
Free Speech Vs. Hate Speech
AI Ethics & Algorithmic Unreliability
Disinformation & Political Division
Privacy & Digital Dignity
Curricular partnerships with Anti-Defamation League, Civic Nebraska, University of Indiana, ACLU, Netflix’s Coded Bias documentary team
Educational work nationally recognized at SXSW EDU and NPR’s Next Team Challenge
Worked alongside Stanford University scholars
on a historic facial recognition ban in Minneapolis
Community education events in partnership with ACLU MN, Little Earth Native American HUD Community, MN Department of Health and Human Services.
International Juried Art Exhibitions on
Digital Civil Rights; Technology Justice;
and Post-Digital Mental Health.
The IDH has proven solutions!
The chaos of our digital age has left us more polarized and vulnerable than ever before:
Online Hate Speech
Digital Free Speech
Invasions of Privacy
Threats to Due Process
Algorithmic discrimination
Mass surveillance
Cancel culture
IDH’s National Student Network
Overseen by Associate Director and Co-Founder Shea Sullivan, the IDH Student Network brings online and on-campus students together from across the country and across the political spectrum for innovative digital ethics solutions. During her time at the IDH, a few of Shea’s key contributions include: facilitating IDH partnerships with the ACLU of MN, the ADL, Little Earth, and Creighton University; curating multiple international art exhibitions on digital ethics issues; and harnessing community conversations for real-world advocacy.
IDH Education Services
Creating accessible, interactive, and experiential digital ethics curriculum for K-12, undergraduate, and graduate classrooms.
- Master's Degree and Certificate Programs
- 14 cutting edge courses utilizing top scholars in the field
- IDH Online: A Diverse and Cross-Cultural Digital Learning Space
- Interactive learning platform; multimodal and experiential
- Custom branded and "skinned" for Creighton
- The IDH Information Network
- Networking Creighton students across campus and across the world
- Interdisciplinary, bipartisan, and peer-reviewed IDH methodologies.
- Already developed for the rapid creation of online programs for Creighton Law: Certificates, credentialing, CLE, and Master’s Degrees.
- Trains Creighton students to analyze, research, and consult on the legal, ethical, and political issues surrounding digital technology.
- Introduction to Digital Ethics, Law, and Citizenship
- Fundamentals of Big Data and Privacy Law
- Machine Learning and Algorithmic Decision Making
- Seminar & Practicum: Digital Ethics Leadership/Research
- Cybercrime and Policing
- Digital Health and Bioethics
- Digital Governance and National Security
- AI Ethics and Business
- Privacy and Data Regulation
- Digital Justice and Equity
- Digital Free Speech
Technology changes rapidly. The law struggles to keep up.
IDH Online evolves with the digital landscape:
- Curating content (research, lectures, video, audio) to provide timely and cohesive frameworks for classrooms and communities
- Transforming students and faculty into “brand ambassadors” for Creighton via the IDH’s social media, podcast, and web platforms.
- The IDH’s research database and networking architecture allows teams from across the world to collaborate on scholarship and advocacy
- The IDH Network provides Creighton Law with access to leading local, national, and international digital ethics experts in its online classes while providing students publication, professionalization, and advocacy opportunities as they work with partners from across the global IDH Network.
Creighton Timeline and budget
Monetization
opportunities
for
creighton
Curriculum
Licensing our educational assets, teaching strategies, and proprietary platform to elementary and secondary schools as well as colleges and corporations
Codable Frameworks
Offering codable frameworks for tech start-ups and organizations that are serious about diversity, equity, inclusion, and ethics in the post-digital word
Consulting
Providing proven, trusted, and interdisciplinary solutions to tech regulators, compliance experts, and industry and government leaders
Civic Engagement
Catalyzing cross-cultural coalitions to find bipartisan legislative solutions for technology ethics
The IDH’s proven ability to develop bipartisan, cutting-edge, interactive, and experiential curriculum makes our methods and classes suitable for any level of learners, from K-12 through law or graduate school to continuing education for professionals.
- Demand for digital ethics curriculum is enormous; the IDH has proven itself by developing K-graduate school education assets.
- The IDH-Creighton curriculum is easily transferable to other schools, either as full academic partners or via specific content licensing.
- Bringing more partners into the IDH research network/online learning environment exponentially grows the brand reach for Creighton.
IDH frameworks are peer-reviewed, codable,
and allow for an evaluation of the legal and ethical issues posed by virtually any new technology or technological application.
- The market for civic, corporate, and professional training and credentialing in digital ethics/technology law -- which often goes hand in hand with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) -- is enormous and only growing.
- The IDH’s proven track record – and IP – allows for the easy creation of industry-specific trainings on technology policy and legal compliance, easily incorporating DEI principles and Jesuit ethics.
- Digital ethics frameworks for corporate partners and policymakers
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) workshops on algorithmic bias
- Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs for attorneys
- CLE for accountants, educators, programmers, & health care providers
- Digital ethics leadership training for nonprofits, activists, and teachers
- As citizens and governmental officials become increasingly alarmed about digital ethics issues, any company or organization collecting data now confronts an increasingly hostile regulatory, legal, and ethical environment.
- The IDH’s proven methodologies – on privacy, algorithmic discrimination, disinformation, and online hate speech – allow us to provide client audits, compliance consulting, market share analysis, and programmable solutions.
The IDH has the proven ability to translate data practices
into easily understandable public campaigns
for digital ethics advocates, policy makers,
and companies.
- Organizations will increasingly face difficult questions about how they collect data and implement algorithmic decision making.
- The IDH is uniquely poised to assess these public relations challenges and market share tradeoffs - offering strategic advice to companies and governmental agencies on how assess and communicate technology policies in a thoughtful, ethical, and defensible manner.
- Given the legal, ethical, and marketing challenges surrounding data policies, the central 21st century question will soon become: How do we trust a particular organization, company, or government policy?
- By offering a trusted cross-cultural and bipartisan "brand" that can serve to certify a company or organization’s practices, the IDH can establish itself as a gold standard for certifying digital ethics principles in these contentious political times.
IDH Teams
and
victories
Ayin Monge, M.A. Ed.
Director of Pedagogy
A
IDH Co-Founder; program developer; experienced in program outreach for K-12 and Higher Ed education levels
Elizabeth Otto, M. Ed.
Former Director of Pedagogy
B
Instrumental in the initial formulation of IDH curricula; former curricular designer for the Anti-Defamation League.
A
Moises Morales,
Director of Production; Curriculum Assistant
C
IDH Co-Founder; aids in conceptual design; experienced in delivering high-quality, post-produced education assets
B
C
Danielle Stratton, Director of Public Relations
Bringing brand strategy to the IDH, she offers 3+ years of branding and consumer insights experience and a fresh perspective on the branding of the IDH.
Julius Hernandez, Director of Development
The IDH’s Director of Development and Policy Advisor, Julius is passionate about shaping the future of government and policy to enhance the lives of all people.
Matt McKain - Director of Operations and Administration
Matt brings over 40 years of corporate leadership experience in finance, legal, operations, administration, and compliance to the IDH. Matt was a founder of Solutionary, Inc., a Gartner Magic Quadrant class MSSP later sold to NTT Corporation, fueling his interest in data privacy, data security and digital ethics.
Vacant - Deputy Executive Director
The IDH's preferred candidate for this position is a Latina-American Ph.D. student in a technology law and ethics program at one of the top business schools in Europe. (They are featured, along with Dr. McKain, in Forbes this month.) If funding is met, they will likely accept.
Creighton
digital ethics
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