Educating Without Extracting: Building Inclusive Futures with AI and Ethics

As the discourse around artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, so too must our frameworks for inclusion, ethics, and social responsibility. In my work across the Patterns Institute and Astronomical AI, I aim to centre trauma-sensitive education and inclusive technological design that resists the commodification of marginalised knowledge and lives.

The initiative “Educating Without Extracting,” developed through my work with 5ivecubed, was brought into the Patterns Institute emerged from the recognition that traditional educational models often perpetuate harm by mining the lived experiences of marginalised people without sufficient reciprocity or ethical consideration. Our approach advocates for radical relationality, where pedagogy is grounded in consent, collaboration, and care. We ask: what does it mean to learn from one another without replicating dynamics of extraction and domination?

This same ethos was carried into the recent Parliamentary Round Table on AI and Inclusivity, hosted by Astronomical AI. The discussion underscored the urgent need to embed inclusion, ethics, and justice within AI systems, not as an afterthought, but as foundational principles. We explored how algorithmic bias, data colonialism, and representational harm are not technological glitches but reflections of systemic injustice. AI must be reimagined not just as a tool, but as a social actor that can either reproduce or resist inequality.

In both these spaces, the throughline is clear: ethical futures require intentional design. Whether in classrooms or codebases, our methods must reflect the values we espouse, dignity, equity, and collective care.

For those interested in delving deeper, I invite you to explore the foundational principles of this work:

Educating Without Extracting Parliamentary Round Table on AI and Inclusivity Further Reading: Critical Frameworks on AI, Ethics, and Decolonial Futures

Together, we can reshape how knowledge and technology serve communities, not extract from them.