Last week I attended TAG 2025, a global conference for technology leaders and practitioners in philanthropy. TAG is always a fascinating opportunity to jump into very different conversations and ways of thinking than I’m used to, which helps to usefully expand my vocabulary and frame of reference. This year’s conference was no different. Many of the conference sessions and informal conversations were focused on AI, as you might expect, but the tenor of these conversations was decidedly different than in years past.
The last time TAG was held in 2023, generative AI was a relatively new phenomenon, and there was a lot of optimism and blue-sky thinking about what it would enable in the philanthropic space. The long-chased rainbows of measurable impact and meaningful reporting seemed finally within reach, and conversations about what foundation staff might do with all of the free time they would have on their hands as a result of increased efficiencies abounded.
Flash forward to this year, and the mood was decidedly different. Philanthropy is going through a rough patch for a number of reasons, but it’s also clear that, in philanthropy tech at least, AI has reached the Trough of Disillusionment state of the Gartner hype cycle. To date, AI implementations in the sector have been largely focused on increasing efficiencies, which have not been nearly as transformative or paradigm-shifting as some anticipated. AI-powered projects which actually produce new ways of working or distinct insights are few and far between.
Some of this may be because AI may be the ultimate “garbage in, garbage out” technology. Reading between the lines a bit, it seemed to me that not many foundations have been able to gain new insights on their grantmaking by using AI-backed analysis because the data infrastructure (both social and technical) to support that analysis is lacking or absent. It feels like there’s a resurgent interest in all aspects of data, including governance, retention, privacy and sharing.
Many of these themes were present in the keynote sessions. Starting off the conference, Nicol Turner Lee (Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Technology Innovation, Brookings Institution) and Fallon S. Wilson (Higher Education, Technology, and Public Interest Technology Leader) engaged in a spirited conversation facilitated by Nadia Alia (Vice President of Operations, Tow Foundation). Touching on themes of the digital divide and invisibility, they asked us to consider, “As we’re using these shiny new tools to augment our decision-making, who is visible and invisible?” Chris Wiggins (Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics, Columbia University and Chief Data Scientist, The New York Times) closed the conference with a deep dive into data as a source of power, both benevolent and harmful. I really appreciated this more historical approach to technology, which is both rare but also extremely useful in the philanthropic context.
I came away from TAG with a renewed sense that the RAC belongs in this community and in these conversations. Our archival expertise is both needed and relevant, now perhaps more than ever. The work we’ve undertaken in the past few years, including our Collections API, linking external data sources to DIMES, and the Fluxx Exporter, demonstrate our contribution to this space. I’m looking forward to deepening our contribution and engagement in this community in the coming years!