AI, the Next Language of Civilization
Davar Ardalan, co-author of AI for Community, will appear at the London AI Summit on June 11, 2025, for a book signing at the Taylor & Francis booth. See press release.
In a world where algorithms now write headlines and generate code at scale, I felt it was time to pause and ask a deeper question: What happens when technology starts to tell our stories for us?
That question led to the creation of AI for Community, published by Taylor & Francis, arriving at a pivotal moment in our global reckoning with artificial intelligence. As tech leaders forecast a future where most code will be generated by machines, this book offers something different, an open invitation for communities everywhere to help shape that future.
A Conversation, Not a Prescription
Rather than prescribing solutions, AI for Community begins with a conversation. Alongside co-authors Lucretia Williams, Reza Moradinezhad, Fernando Gonzalez, Amir Banifatemi and Myles Ingram. I’ve helped craft a journey through memory, technology, and cultural preservation, told through voices that are actively engaged in the AI discourse.
These stories didn’t originate in corporate labs. They emerged from classrooms, family kitchens, archives, and ancestral lands. Each chapter reflects our belief that AI can be shaped not only by engineers, but by educators, archivists, linguists, and designers. One of the earliest sparks for this book was my experience in 2017 with an AI that failed to recognize Pacific Island ingredients. From that moment, research projects like Laleh AI and the Indigenous Knowledge Graph came into focus, laying the foundation for what has become a rich tapestry of reflections and provocations.
Real-World Projects, Everyday Relevance
At the heart of this work is a commitment to grounding technology in the textures of everyday life. For example, Howard University’s Project Elevate Black Voices, a collaboration with Google, is featured for its efforts to develop audio datasets that improve recognition of African American Vernacular English. These contributions do more than boost technical accuracy, they also affirm data ownership and agency, ensuring that communities like Howard University are not subjects of AI systems, but architects of them.
Community Voices Across the Globe
Woven between these projects are what we call Community Voices, six contributors from around the world whose insights anchor the book in lived experience. Climate storyteller Matt Scott reflects on the potential of AI to uplift environmental narratives. Technologist Jaye Nias offers a vision for tools that are built by, not just for, communities. Chamisa Edmo, from the Navajo Nation, emphasizes why language preservation must be a long-term priority. In Europe, Stéphanie Camaréna raises important questions around data and consent. Nishan Chelvachandran brings a perspective shaped by peacebuilding, while Leandro de Castro imagines AI supporting agroforestry and traditional knowledge systems.
These voices help deepen the narrative and expand what’s possible. Through them, the book becomes more than a reflection. It becomes a dialogue.
Collaborating with AI, Cautiously
As co-authors, we were also transparent about our use of AI during the writing process. We used tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Grammarly to support editing and language refinement. Our custom models, ARC-AI and MylesAI, helped shape drafts and surface ideas. But none of it was automated. Every paragraph was reviewed, questioned, and reshaped through human oversight.
The result is a book that speaks alongside readers. We intentionally kept it non-technical. It’s designed for use in classrooms, community centers, design studios, and libraries, any space where people are thinking about how technology intersects with life and learning.
London AI Summit June 11, 2025
And the conversation doesn’t end here. I’ll be signing books at the London AI Summit on June 11, 2025, at the Taylor & Francis booth.
As artificial intelligence moves from novelty to infrastructure, AI for Community reminds us that what we build must go beyond speed or scale. It must be rooted in memory, in conversation, and in care. This is just the beginning. Let’s make sure the next language of civilization carries all of our voices.
AI for Community is priced as a community resource and academic reference. It’s intended for use in multidisciplinary research, and institutional learning environments focused on emerging technology. The book is especially relevant for architects of AI in cities, community libraries, media labs, innovation hubs, and AI research centers working to embed contextual intelligence into the next generation of tools and systems.
AI NOTE: This blog post was co-created with ARC, an AI trained on the authors’ archives.
