HRF’s AI for Individual Rights Fund is awarding six new grants to developers, researchers, and civil society organizations advancing AI tools for freedom worldwide. This round supports an offline AI model to deliver uncensored information into North Korea, the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s hackathon against Putin’s party, and projects making private AI accessible on personal devices. Among them are Mia’s AI Lab, which optimizes open-weight models for everyday hardware, and DS4, a local AI app by open-source software developer Salvatore Sanfilippo that runs powerful models privately on a personal computer. Read our press release to learn more about the projects working to ensure AI serves freedom and democracy instead of the dictators who seek to repress these ideals. View article →

Good morning! AI for Individuals Rights newsletter #24 is out. In Vietnam, the Communist Party is expanding AI-powered censorship and surveillance, including plans to turn a digital identity app used by over 67 million citizens into an “AI-powered surveillance super-app.” This week, NPR’s All Things Considered featured HRF’s AI Hack for Freedom III and highlighted some of the tools human rights defenders built to advance their movements. In China Journal of Democracy, HRF’s Alex Gladstein explores how AI agents and private AI can amplify the work of Chinese dissidents and the irony of Chinese AI models empowering those challenging the regime. View article →

This week in financial freedom: Sudan's pound hits a record low of 10,000 per dollar, Iran admits to slowing the internet on purpose, and Russia's digital ruble goes national as Bitcoin access narrows. In #Bitcoin news, software developers have combined Payjoin with CISA to create PISA, a working integration of two technologies that together would make private payments cheaper. The latest in the Financial Freedom Report: financialfreedomreport.org View article →

Good afternoon! AI for Individual Rights Newsletter #23 is out. This week, we look into how Uganda’s regime, led by dictator Yoweri Museveni for over four decades, is now using foreign surveillance technology to expand its repression. Meanwhile, US tech giant Meta has released what it calls the “most capable” American open-weight model yet. We close with a fireside chat with HRF’s Alex Gladstein at Bitcoin Policy Institute’s Freedom Tech DC last month, where he discussed the rapid evolution of AI, its potential to empower activists, and HRF’s work to put cutting-edge tools in their hands. View article →

Good morning, nostr! Financial Freedom Report #143 is here and covers Russia's plan to ban peer-to-peer bitcoin trades between individuals beginning in July 2027. In #Bitcoin news, Exonumia has released a human-reviewed 359-term Bitcoin Glossary that will help in the development of localized freedom tech tools. We include an essay from the Journal of Democracy, in which economist Rabah Arezki argues that digital finance could prove to be a more durable “liberation technology” than social media and the internet did against the modern state. We then consider what that argument means when applied to Bitcoin. View article →

Good morning! Financial Freedom Report #142 is here, covering an overnight currency devaluation in Iraq, where the regime cut the value of the dinar by 14.5%. In #Bitcoin news, we break down the Ledger hardware wallet exploit and what it means for users relying on hardware devices to secure their funds. We also feature three perspectives on financial freedom from members of HRF’s Freedom Tech team, who joined Bitcoin Magazine TV to discuss Bitcoin’s role in advancing human freedom. View article →

Good morning, everyone! AI for Individual RIghts newsletter #21 is out. El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele is rolling out AI-powered public services that could improve his image and expand his access to citizens' personal data, even as democratic checks on his power erode. On the other hand, Mistral, Europe's largest AI lab, has launched its most capable model yet, Mistral Large 4, nicknamed "Le Chonk." The company says it plans to release the model's weights soon and that, once it does, Le Chonk will be the best-performing open-weight model built in the United States or Europe. We close with a recap video from our recent AI Hack for Freedom III, where 10 activists used AI to build tools addressing the biggest challenges they face. View article →

Good morning, everyone! AI for Individual Rights newsletter #20 is out. We discuss how Xi Jinping’s visit to the US reflects the Chinese regime’s influence over the future of AI and how this risks sidelining discussions of China’s AI-powered repression. On the other hand, Afghan tech entrepreneur Roya Mahboob is using AI to bring education to girls who are otherwise barred from it due to repressive Taliban decrees. We close with a segment from NPR’s Weekend Edition that mentions HRF’s recent AI Hack for Freedom III as an example of how AI can be used for good. View article →