Design the Future: Accountable AI Design Workshop

Join us for an afternoon of collaborative design thinking, sketching future scenarios and listening to Ignite talks from selected speakers in the community.

Led by the Open Civic Tech team, in collaboration with NYU ITP, SVA ixD and Superbloom Design, we'll explore how AI systems can be designed responsibly and learn about the Smol Gardens Accountability framework.

We’ll start with an intro to small language models and socio-technical thinking, then work through real design challenges in small groups and cap off the night with selected pitch presentations.

Smol Gardens: Accountable Tech Guide is an initiative by the Open Civic Tech team.

Learn how it got started: smolgardens.com
Email: community@opencivic.tech

Event Details

• When: November 6, 2026 | 1:00 - 4:00 PM
• Where: NYU ITP/IMA, 370 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY. 4th Floor.
  Must bring ID to enter.
• Cost: $15 registration fee. | Ignite Talk presentors and students register for free.
• Food: Yes, we're providing pizza and drinks.

This workshop is best for:

- Builders working for and within their community.
- Designers who are testing their ideas and need a platform to present it.
- Community leaders who want to collaborate with mission-aligned individuals.
- Those who are looking for a space to discuss Accountable AI principles.

Interested in speaking on Accountable AI topics?

To submit, complete the form here.

We are seeking project presentations for the Smol Gardens Accountable AI for civic tech workshop happening on Nov 6th, at NYU IMA/ITP Brooklyn Campus.

Presentations could be in speculative format or can be related to your current work. Topics must align with accountability principles. Learn more about Smol Gardens here: https://smolgardens.com

Submission Deadline: Nov 1st, 2026

Participation terms:

• Talks must be 7 minutes; Format: Google Slides (Present 15 slides auto-timed for 30 seconds). What is an Ignite talk?

• Content should align with Smol Gardens Topics and be appropriate for a mixed audience of students and practitioners

• Presenters must arrive 2 hours prior to the presentation to join the brainstorm and ideation session (1:00 PM)