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Untangled with Charley Johnson

All ‘tech problems’ are entangled in social systems structured by power and inequality. If we don’t untangle the two, we perpetuate the status quo in the name of innovation and progress. Every Sunday, I help you untangle your system, and teach you the skills, tools, and strategies to change it. Learn more about my work here: https://www.charley-johnson.com/

The Handprint of System Leadership

Hi there, Welcome back to Untangled. It’s written by me, Charley Johnson, and valued by members like you. Help me make it better? Get free email course This week I'm calling out one of the bigger blind spots of system leadership -- assuming you can see the whole system. As always, please send me feedback on today’s post by replying to this email. I read and respond to every note. On to the show! 🏡 Untangled HQ Coming Up New Event: I'm partnering with Nick Martin for a free event on Wednesday...

Your data isn't exhaust. It's a belonging.

Hi there, Welcome back to Untangled. It’s written by me, Charley Johnson, and supported by members like you. Help me make it better? This week I’m sharing a conversation I had with Beth Rudden — founder of Bast AI, former chief data officer for a $34 billion division at IBM, and someone building a genuinely different vision of what AI could be. 🏡 Untangled HQ Coming Up Stewarding Complexity: Our next session is about finding and using the agency you actually have — even inside institutions...

The Age of Algorithmic Deference.

Hi there, Welcome back to Untangled. It’s written by me, Charley Johnson, and supported by members like you. Help me make it better? This week, I’m sharing a conversation I had with Hilke Schellmann — Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist, NYU professor, and author of The Algorithm — about her recent reporting on AI in hospitals. If you read my newsletter applying the STEWARD framework to AI in health care, you know her work was the spine of that piece. This conversation builds off of...

Sorry Dario, Work Is Weirder Than That

Hi there, Welcome back to Untangled. It’s written by me, Charley Johnson, and supported by members like you. As always, please send me feedback on today’s post by replying to this email. I read and respond to every note. On to the show! 🏡 Untangled HQ Last Week: Kate and I hosted a workshop on agenda setting for high-performing groups, and 30+ people participated! Our next event, Navigating Challenging Personalities at Work, is scheduled for March 19. Join us! New: I launched a referral...

A small ask — and something in return

Hi there, If you've been reading Untangled for a while, there's a decent chance you know someone else who'd find it useful. A colleague grappling with what must remain human when adopting AI. A funder trying to make sense of a rapidly changing landscape. A quirky uncle wondering "what even is 'AI'?" If that person exists in your life — I'd love it if you shared Untangled with them. And because I want to make it worth your while: I've set up a referral program. Refer 5 friends and get a free...

Funders Must Rethink How to Lead Through Tech-Inflected Uncertainty

Hi there, Welcome back to Untangled. It’s written by me, Charley Johnson, and valued by members like you. This week, I'm sharing an essay that Michelle Shevin and I published earlier this week in Tech Policy Press about how funders must rethink how to lead through tech-inflected uncertainty. AI promises to optimize away uncertainty. But generative AI just flattens complexity into a neat interface. Public interest tech leaders need a different approach—one built on relational infrastructure....

What Must Remain Human?

Hi there, Welcome back to Untangled. It’s written by me, Charley Johnson, and valued by members like you. This week, I'm sharing a process any organization can use to reconfigure human-machine workflow. Because the key question for companies and organizations adopting AI isn't "what can we automate," it's "How do we design work that takes advantage of what machines do well, while protecting what makes us irreplaceably human?" As always, please send me feedback on today’s post by replying to...

What If We Regulated Chatbots Like Any Other Product?

Hi there, Welcome back to Untangled. It’s written by me, Charley Johnson, and valued by members like you. Today, I’m sharing my conversation with Ben Winters, Director of AI and Privacy at Consumer Federation of America, about The People First Chatbot Bill—model legislation for regulating chatbots that’s been endorsed by over 70 organizations. As always, please send me feedback on today’s post by replying to this email. I read and respond to every note. 🔦Untangled HQ The Untangled Collective...

The Intelligence of a Hunch: What AI Will Never Have

Hi there, Welcome back to Untangled. It’s written by me, Charley Johnson, and valued by members like you. Today, I’m writing about why so-called "world models" can't save AI, and the intelligence of a hunch. As always, please send me feedback on today’s post by replying to this email. I read and respond to every note. 🔦Untangled HQ There is a lot going on y’all, so I thought I would break it down. For those keeping track, you can get involved in Untangled via: Community The Untangled...

When Your AI Assistant Becomes an Advertiser

Hi there, Welcome back to Untangled. It’s written by me, Charley Johnson, and supported by members like you. This week I’m sharing my conversation with Miranda Bogen (Director, AI Governance Lab, Center for Democracy & Technology) about what happens when your AI assistant becomes an advertiser. (Watch below or listen on Apple or Spotify) As always, please send me feedback on today’s post by replying to this email. I read and respond to every note. Don’t forget to sign up for The Untangled...

All ‘tech problems’ are entangled in social systems structured by power and inequality. If we don’t untangle the two, we perpetuate the status quo in the name of innovation and progress. Every Sunday, I help you untangle your system, and teach you the skills, tools, and strategies to change it. Learn more about my work here: https://www.charley-johnson.com/