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Amy Sample Ward: It’s probably already been said in multiple ways, but to say it in another, more explicit way: Question the hype. We are, as folks in the nonprofit sector, used to being told that we need to buy all of these “solutions,” that we need this new solution for fundraising because it’s better than the solution you were sold yesterday. That everything is a solution, and that we need to go get these things, and we are already behind. The number of times I’ve heard people say, “Well, we’re falling behind.” Falling behind who? Who is it? Who? Please tell me, who is ahead? And also, where’s the line?

We cannot fall victim into that completely empty, not serving us rhetoric, and adopt tools that make our staff, ourselves, our communities, even more vulnerable than we already are. So do not believe that when somebody says, “We have to hurry, this is urgent, we are behind.” I am sorry, behind who? What are you talking about? That just is not language that we need to hold on to.

And, just as [co-panelist] Tristan [Penn] said, for many people, for many organizations, there may feel like there aren’t options. You may feel like we are a staff of two, and look around, it is an actual hellscape out there. I need to use this tool to help me build my newsletter content. Great! I understand that. Like Tristan said, we are not coming through the neighborhood and saying, “No, no, no,” slapping it out of your hand.

But we are saying, do it within parameters that are safe. Do it within parameters that…you are willing to say publicly how you are using those tools. And if you’re not willing to say publicly, “Hey, here’s the disclosure, we used AI for this,” and you’re like, Oh gosh, I don’t really want to tell people, that’s probably your gut saying you shouldn’t have used AI for that. So making sure that while there are spaces and places where it’s like, We really need to use these tools, we’re doing that with intention and our eyes open.