Big News: Ludlow Wins Grant for AI Privacy Tool!
By Naomi Brockwell, Founder and Director of NBTV
I'm excited to share big news: The Ludlow Institute just won a major grant to fund our research into how artificial intelligence can protect privacy in our digital lives.
At Foresight Institute’s Vision Weekend 2025, held in beautiful Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, I pitched a new project exploring how we can use AI-generated data to fight back against invasive data brokers. In a world where deepfakes and AI-generated content have blurred the line between fact and fiction, we can use this to our advantage. By harnessing powerful compute, in theory we can generate enormous amounts of artificial information that’s indistinguishable from reality. Our idea is to explore how everyday people might be able to generate so much digital noise about ourselves that data brokers' attempts to track us become futile. Ultimately, this approach could render their entire business model obsolete.
I was thrilled to see how many people cared deeply about reclaiming privacy, and even more thrilled when our proposal won the Vision Weekend pitch contest, selected by audience vote!
Pitching a new AI-powered privacy tool in Old San Juan
AI: Weapon or Ally?
Artificial intelligence currently has a bad rap. Surveillance companies and authoritarian governments have overwhelmingly hijacked this tech and turned it into a tool for control and intrusion. But technology itself is neutral. AI is fundamentally a powerful computing tool, and it can just as easily empower individuals as it can oppress them. The crucial question we must ask ourselves is: how can we harness this power and use it for our benefit to safeguard our digital rights instead?
Data brokers build detailed profiles of our personal lives by constantly tracking us online. They profit enormously by selling these accurate profiles to countless entities—including governments, which often become their largest and most powerful customers. When governments can easily buy this data, it becomes a frightening tool for social control. But what if the data these brokers collect becomes unreliable? If we can flood their systems with convincing artificial information, the accuracy they depend on vanishes—and with it, their influence. Exploring how effective this approach could be is exactly what Ludlow’s research aims to achieve through this grant.
Building a Radically Beautiful Future
I'm deeply grateful to the Foresight Institute for their commitment to funding technologies that empower individuals to shape a better future. Foresight recognizes that while we can dream of a better world, no one else will build it for us. We must build it ourselves.
I envision a future where each of us has the power to protect what's most valuable—our privacy, our autonomy, and our freedom. I want a future where the scales of power shift away from invasive governments and corporations and tilt back toward the individual. I dream of a radically beautiful world where people are free to explore bold, unconventional ideas without constant monitoring pushing them into conformity. Constant surveillance breeds conformity because it pressures us to censor ourselves and align with mainstream views out of fear of scrutiny. Privacy isn’t just about protection—it's about freedom of thought and expression.
How can we leverage powerful technologies to build that future? That's exactly what Ludlow's AI privacy research project is all about.
Join the Effort
Vision Weekend connected us with an incredible community of technologists, researchers, and privacy advocates committed to reshaping our digital future. If you're passionate about privacy and want to contribute ideas or expertise to this project, I'd love your help.
Stay tuned for more ways to get involved!
Yours in privacy,
Naomi
Consider supporting our nonprofit and helping us create free educational content that teaches people how to reclaim control over their digital lives. Visit LudlowInstitute.org/donate to set up a monthly, tax-deductible donation.
NBTV. Because Privacy Matters.