What AI Is (and Is Not), Part 4: Corporations and Powers
A guide for nonprofit leaders who want clarity, not confusion
If you’ve followed this series, you’ve learned that not all AI is the same.
Some AIs are tools—simple, neutral helpers.
Some are companions—responsive but limited.
Some act like colleagues or intelligence layers—helping us think, write, and plan.
And some—like the ones we’ll talk about today—are bigger than any single product.
They are Corporations and Powers.
What We’re Really Talking About
Definition: Collective, abstract agencies—systems of profit, policy, and data that shape behavior at a global scale.
This isn’t about one chatbot or app. It’s about the platforms that own the infrastructure. The invisible layer of algorithms deciding what you see, what you pay attention to, and how your organization reaches its audience.
When we talk about “AI,” we can’t stop at the helpful tool. We have to ask:
Who owns it?
Who trains it?
Who benefits from it?
Who is quietly shaped by it?
Because once you see the ecosystem, you realize something important: AI isn’t neutral. It’s built inside incentive structures that often have very little to do with the public good.
The Hidden Influence of Systems
Think about the nonprofits, movements, and communities you care about.
If you run a fundraising campaign on social media, you’re operating inside an algorithm that privileges outrage over nuance.
If your team uses productivity software with built-in AI features, your data is teaching the model how to sell more effectively—whether or not that benefits you.
If your communications depend on Google search, YouTube, or ChatGPT, your visibility is determined by someone else’s code.
AI is no longer just a technology—it’s an environment.
The Power of Naming It
In the nonprofit world, influence has always been shaped by systems—laws, markets, and institutions. But digital systems are different. They move faster, remember longer, and learn invisibly.
That’s why language matters. When you can name a power, you can resist being shaped by it unconsciously.
Naming lets you ask better questions:
Are we using this system, or is it using us?
Does this technology make our work more relational—or more transactional?
Are we measuring what matters, or just what’s easy to count?
How Leaders Can Respond
Audit your dependencies.
Make a simple list of the AI systems your organization already relies on—CRMs, advertising platforms, scheduling software, even email marketing. Ask: what data are they collecting, and for whose gain?Diversify your tools.
Avoid putting all your communications, analytics, or storytelling eggs in one corporate basket. The more platforms control your pipeline, the less freedom you have to act with integrity.Build human-scale spaces.
Create ways for people to connect, learn, and grow outside the algorithms—small gatherings, learning cohorts, or direct communication channels. That’s where trust gets rebuilt.Advocate for better norms.
Nonprofits are uniquely positioned to speak up about the social costs of surveillance capitalism, the ethics of data, and the dignity of the people we serve. Don’t outsource that voice.
Why This Matters for Leaders
The conversation about AI isn’t really about machines—it’s about power.
Every major shift in technology reorganizes who holds it. The printing press moved power from priests to printers. The internet moved power from institutions to platforms. AI is moving it again—to those who control data, attention, and access.
Nonprofit leaders understand what’s at stake when power gets concentrated. The mission of the sector has always been to rebalance the scales—to speak for what’s human when systems forget.
That calling hasn’t changed. The tools have.
Leadership Reflection
Ask yourself:
Where are we depending on systems we don’t fully understand?
Whose values are built into the technologies we rely on?
How can we reclaim some of that power through transparency, collaboration, or community ownership?
AI doesn’t just automate. It organizes. And if we’re not intentional, it will quietly organize us.
The Series in Summary
Tools help you work faster.
Companions make work feel easier.
Colleagues and Intelligence Layers help you think better.
Living Books help you teach and extend your reach.
But Corporations and Powers decide what kind of world those other AIs will live in.
As leaders, our job isn’t just to adapt to technology—it’s to shape the moral and relational space it operates in.
The future belongs to organizations that lead with clarity, courage, and conscience.