Common Ground · Role-play

Role-play Cards

A deck of the stakeholders in any algorithmic system — who they are, what motivates them, and the levers of power each one holds. Use them to role-play a scenario: take a role, argue from its incentives, and test which strategies actually move it. Flip a card to see the power that group can bring to bear.

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Role-play 01

Policy Makers

Govern how the technology can be built and used.

Legislators, regulators, and agency staff who set and enforce the rules for algorithmic systems

Incentives

Prove the public sector can govern AI and protect constituents before harms turn into significant grievances for people.

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Role-play 01Policy Makers

Levers & power

Legislation, grants, mandated audits, creating proposal to support initatives

In practice

Require public-sector algorithms to be audited for disparate impact before deployment.

Role-play 02

Developers

Decide and build what the system actually does.

Engineers, product teams, and the companies that build and ship algorithmic systems.

Incentives

Build user trust, cut legal and regulatory risk, and retain talent committed to ethical practices.

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Role-play 02Developers

Levers & power

Expertise to develop system, building privacy-protective defaults, opt-outs, building resistance tooling, removing harmful features, opening data for audits...

In practice

Add an opt-out and privacy-protective defaults instead of collecting by default.

Role-play 03

Researchers

Produce the benchmarks, audits, and research contribution.

Academics, independant auditors and analysts who study systems from the outside.

Incentives

Impact, citations, and funding for accountable AI, and protecting the communities they study.

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Role-play 03Researchers

Levers & power

Conducting Audits of harmful systems, benchmarks and datasets, expert testimony, shaping public and policy narratives...

In practice

Release a benchmark that makes a hidden harm measurable, so others can act on it.

Role-play 04

Community Members / Community Organisations

Support and represent the affected community.

LGBTQIA2S+ people and the grassroots, mutual-aid, and advocacy groups that represent them.

Incentives

Secure immediate community protection and the agency to act without waiting for external fixes.

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Role-play 04Community Members / Community Organisations

Levers & power

Collective refusal and data strikes, documenting harms, coalition-building, demanding participatory design...

In practice

Organise a data strike and document harms with members' testimony.

Role-play 05

Everyday Users

Notice, report, and amplify what the system does.

The broad base of people who use a platform day to day.

Incentives

Ensure individual privacy and safety while building collective power to push back against harms

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Role-play 05Everyday Users

Levers & power

Reporting and flagging, opting out, switching platforms, coordinated data strikes...

In practice

Report harmful outputs, at enough scale to shift the platform.