What is Our AI Futures Lab?

Our AI Futures Lab offers education and other resources to help mission-driven workers in government, non-profits, and social impact businesses build ethical, effective AI skills and strategy.

From this collaboration between PersicaSage Consulting, LLC and the Policy & Innovation Center (PIC), you can expect concrete guidance, actionable resources, and principled practices you can put to work today.

About us

If you work in government or the non-profit sector, you’re probably being asked to do more with less: serve more people, solve more complex problems, and maintain public trust along the way. And you’re doing this while protecting sensitive data, navigating scrutiny, and making sure your work reflects the values your organization stands for.

I’ve been there. My name is Sarah Aghassi and for nearly two decades, I held different roles at one of the largest county governments in the country: the County of San Diego. I also had the honor of working alongside incredible people achieving the public good and serving as Interim Chief Administrative Officer before retiring in July of last year.

Our AI Futures Lab is a labor of love because I believe artificial intelligence (AI), if approached thoughtfully and intentionally, can help mission-driven organizations succeed by supporting the people who carry out the mission, not by replacing them.  If it’s treated only as a cost-saver or staff-replacer, we risk losing the very things that make our work matter: the human aspects of decision-making. We are not in this to “move fast and break things” …that mindset does not work in public service.

It’s important to understand what AI can do, its potential for good work, its potential for harm, what it shouldn’t do, its tendency to hallucinate, and how to ask the right questions before deciding when and where to use it. The exploration and use of AI isn’t just a technology decision. And it shouldn’t live solely in the IT departments, “innovation” units, or with executive leadership.  If you run programs, provide services, lead community initiatives, or manage operations, you need to be part of the conversation. 

This is a space for team members who:

  • Want practical, principled guidance on AI

  • Have a desire to build smarter and more resilient systems

  • Are skeptical of the hype, but are curious about the possibilities

  • Want to use technology to amplify, not erase, the human side of their work

  • Are committed to mission, strategy, and responsible innovation with integrity

Let’s face it: AI is here; the question isn’t whether we’ll use it.  The question is how we use it and who gets to decide. And if we don’t shape the role of AI in our organizations, someone else will, based on the products they create and bring to market. We’ll explore how you can decide where AI makes sense, where it doesn’t, and highlight the very real concerns about transparency, privacy, misinformation, accuracy, bias, security, and trust. 

Thank you for being here. You are part of a growing community of values-driven leaders who know public service and responsible innovation can, and must, go hand in hand. I could not ask for a better partner in this work than Dr. Karen Boyd, Director of Research at the Policy and Innovation Center.

Let’s explore what’s possible…together!

Sarah Aghassi

Founder, PersicaSage Consulting, LLC

I’m Karen Boyd, Director of Research at the Policy & Innovation Center (PIC). I am interested in supporting human flourishing in the future of work. To that end, I studied the ethics of AI and the future of work. I earned a PhD from the School of Information at the University of Maryland, College Park in 2020, studying ethics in the development of AI systems and studied AI use in the workplace in a post-doc fellowship at the University of Michigan School of Information.

At PIC, I translate research into practice for values-driven work and help leaders and staff adjust to the future of work. For example, we talk to employers, workers, and educators to understand how AI is changing the skill needs in a particular occupation, the potential impacts on the workforce, and how we can support incumbent workers with accessible training for the skills they will need to flourish in an AI-augmented workplace. Or work with educators to create stackable, accessible certifications students can use to build and demonstrate critical skills for their new careers.

Teaming up with long-time public-sector executive Sarah Aghassi was an opportunity to make an even bigger dream come true. Our AI Futures Lab will bring practical guidance, hands-on resources, and training directly to mission-driven workers across organizations.

Mission-driven work is like other work in a lot of ways: you need to effectively and efficiently do your job and bring in revenue that more than covers your costs. But mission-driven work has another layer: they exist to support some good in the world. We’ve already seen headlines documenting AI not only failing to live up to its promises, but even directly contravening non-profit and government missions. It’s understandable if many mission-driven workers are not ready to jump in with both feet if they worry this powerful and fast-moving technology could undermine the very mission that drives their work.

If you stick around, we’ll show you how to start with your mission, design workflows that improve efficiency without compromising values, and build the perspective and skills required to pursue your mission while adapting to a fast-changing technology landscape.

If you’re interested in reading more, my work has been featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Non-Profit Vision, Nonprofit Pro, the First Day podcast, the Non-Profit Jenni Show, and The Educators’ 2026 AI Guide.

I’m excited to dive in with you and help you explore effective, ethical AI!

Karen Boyd, PhD

Director of Research, PIC