Insights

Closing the loop on our inquiry-driven approach means we share what we’re learning. Click on the filters below to explore insights from us and our network.

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April 7, 2026/Q&A, Research

Alexandra Mateescu on Workers’ Experience of Technology, Worker Power, and Finding Hope in Challenging Times

Alexandra Mateescuis in her second year as a Siegel Research Fellow at Data & Society, where she has worked for the last decade. In this Q&A, Alexandra shares her research about the gendered experience of the gig economy; how AI is an extension of existing tools of surveillance and control of workers; and how workers themselves are building power and challenging existing narratives about the promise and peril of technology. We also discuss Alexandra’s new co-authored paperon the underlying dynamics of power, control, and ideology that are shaping AI adoption in the workplace.

March 24, 2026/Reflections

SXSW 2026: What We Built and What We Learned

SXSW is where we take the temperature of what’s happening in education and innovation and this year, the signal was clear. Across our Public House activations with the Stanford d.school, hundreds of people showed up not just to learn, but to connect, create, and act. Here’s what we built, what we heard, and what it all points to.

March 3, 2026/Big Ideas, Reflections

Shaping AI on Rural Terms: Infrastructure, Ownership, and the Question of Who Captures the Gains

Shifting those narratives isn’t just a communications challenge; it’s a question of power. Across regions and sectors, participants described rural places as sites of tech-driven innovation, experimentation, and deep practical knowledge. What is missing is not ingenuity, but the infrastructure, capital, and power of rural leaders to shape how technology shows up in their communities, and how that work is perceived.

February 18, 2026/Big Ideas, News

Shaping the algorithm: Investing across the tech stack to orchestrate ‘good AI’

Today we’re announcing a partnership with ImpactAlpha to support their Shape the Algorithm beat. The conversation around AI is moving fast. Every day, headlines remind us that the choices we make in technology—what gets built, how it’s governed, who benefits—matter. We’ve long believed that supporting public interest technology and engaging in the future of philanthropy isn’t just about grants. It’s about building the ecosystem that lets good ideas take root, scale, and adapt: capital, governance, knowledge, and strategy.

February 6, 2026/Reflections

You spoke, we listened: 2025 Grantees’ Perspectives on Funder-Grantee Relationships and Siegel Family Endowment

We believe feedback is essential to continuous improvement. Philanthropy operates within inherent power imbalances, making it all the more important to create structured opportunities for grantees to share honest perspectives about what’s working and what isn’t. We believe feedback serves a dual purpose: it strengthens our relationships with grantee organizations by demonstrating that their voices genuinely shape our practice, and they provide us with the critical feedback we need to evolve our approach.

February 6, 2026/News, Reflections

Playback: Siegel’s 2026 “Ask-Me-Anything”

Siegel’s annual Ask Me Anything webinar is an opportunity for our friends and partners to learn about our plans for the year ahead and ask questions about our work and approach. This year’s event, held virtually on Thursday, February 5th, brought together over 315 attendees.

February 4, 2026/Big Ideas, Reflections

Rural Consultation Series: Rural Innovation Is Happening. Why Don’t We Hear More About It?

In our work—with grantees, through firsthand observation, and in the stories we intentionally seek—we’ve witnessed the power of technological innovation in rural communities. It takes many forms across the country, often without a data center in sight. Yet these stories rarely break through mainstream narratives, reinforcing a persistent misconception: that meaningful innovation happens elsewhere.

February 3, 2026/Reflections

Flooding the Market with Better Stories: Our Engagement at Sundance Festival 2026

Change starts with imagining the change and that starts with stories. From narrative workshops at Tech Together 2025 to our sponsorship of the Solidarity House at Sundance 2026, we’re building the conditions our work needs to succeed.

January 29, 2026/Big Ideas

For Rural Communities, AI Must Mean More Than Data Centers

Data centers are rapidly sprouting across America, with technology companies spending billions to build thousands of facilities nationwide. Rural areas in particular have seen a surge in development as companies seek cheaper land and generous local tax incentives. Many see the trend as providing an entry point into the growing AI sector for communities outside traditional urban centers, with proponents arguing that data centers represent a “new savior” for regions in need of much-needed tax revenue and high-paying jobs. But proponents are missing one key issue: Data center jobs are not AI jobs.

January 27, 2026/Case Studies

Case Study: CommunityShare

CommunityShare ignites civic engagement and a passion for learning by activating the wisdom and lived experiences of educators, students, and community members. The organization connects PreK-12 educators with community partners—people in the community who can share their unique experiences, interests, and skills—to work on real-world projects that help students develop durable, transferable skills while bolstering student engagement, connection, and sense of belonging.

January 22, 2026/Case Studies

Case Study: The Maintainers

The Maintainers is a global research and practice network that focuses on maintenance, repair, care, and the mundane labor that keeps the world going. The Maintainers work within and across different disciplines, contexts, and physical locations. The Maintainers emerged from a 2016 conference that brought together academics to counter a dominant narrative of the twenty-first century: it was smart to invest in innovation and new-ness rather than support the crucial work of maintenance
and repair. In its first grant-funded phase, The Maintainers supported conferences, collaborative projects, fellowships, and free public programs for both practitioners and researchers. In 2025, The Maintainers transitioned to a distributed leadership model that continues to activate and nurture a network of maintainers.