// This week on JEN_AI
We spoke to international development specialist Bridget Brown and storytelling video producer & Feral-Business-owner Cressida Kocienski about how we can Build Something Good.
This week- I get banned from X/Twitter (does that make me an eX/Twitter user?), get AI-agents to build a web app that writes a meme-mail to your government representative, and consider whether to give up trying to spam people for Good.
// The Why: Too much Chat from JEN_AI, the bad guy?
I don’t know if you feel how I feel.
What I feel: so far in the JEN_AI Project,
There’s been an awful lot of chat.
And last week JEN_AI had an overdue epiphany that much of the world sees Social Media, Big Tech, Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI (GenAI) as a waste of time at best, uncool at medium, and at its worst: downright Chaotic Evil.
Also, we won’t mention- The News.
I had another topic planned for this week, but it’s time to Build Something. Something Good.
I mean “High-Quality-Good”, “Make-the-World-A-Better-Place-Good” and aspirationally “Lawful Good”.
I don’t believe AI or BigTech is inherently Evil. But we do certainly have an Alignment Problem. Or rather, a challenge.
If you’re new here- I’m Jenni Munroe, a creative technologist and AI experimenter who loves hacking together ideas at the intersection of AI, media, and culture. I taught computers to paint before it was uncool. I’m currently on maternity leave from Google, and each week on the JEN_AI_Project I use AI, tech, culture, and media to keep up with the latest in AI, tech, culture, and media.
This is JEN_AI Challenge #08: Build Something Good.
// Context: The Global Net-New News
This week- the US, EU, UK, and Ukraine have been strategically re-thinking defense and aid.
You may be aware that President Trump and Elon Musk have been “re-imagining” US government lately, hacking away at federal programs under the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency or “DOGE” unit, with cuts and pauses both at home and abroad, including halting 90% of USAID. As of 4th March 2025, the U.S. has also suspended all military support for Ukraine.
The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced an increase in UK defense spending from 2.3 to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, cutting foreign aid from 0.5% to 0.3% to fund it. The message? Less global charity, more military muscle. But is aid really just charity, or is it actually muscle too- maybe even with greater gains? Time to flex those guns? 💪
There’s a lot happening (and no longer happening) on a lot of fronts. Lives and livelihoods have and will be lost. It’s not looking good.
// What to do? Where to start?
I’ve been speaking to international development expert Bridget Brown - Managing Director at Montrose International- this week about the impact of the aid cuts, misconceptions about the value and power of aid, and if there is any way a tiny human/AI hack challenge can be of help.
If you’re working in the U.S. government or international development, it’s been a rough time. But perhaps Beyoncé said it best (I’m paraphrasing):
When life gives you lemons- make some funking LEMONAID.
Ok ladies, now let’s get information.
// Aid gets AI’d
Code_Project_Name: LemonAID
// Bridget Brown on the Power of Aid
Bridget and I had a long discussion and then I asked her to reflect and share what ideas had resonated most for her. We walked & talked, and recorded it - this is minimally edited, for readability:
Jen: All right. Okay, good. So, hello. You're being interviewed!
Bridget: Hello! I'm being interviewed! This is great. So there's a whole range of stuff. The MP email generator type thing can be done ‘tomorrow’ and is actually quite a good idea, but first we need to convince everybody that it's a a sensible idea generally to do.
So there's a whole load of things. So for instance - USA: there's an insane number of documents online around what the programs do, how many lives are affected, what the impact of those is. Anything that would consolidate and map a picture of the lives saved and the knock on impact would be obviously humongous. Eye-opening. You were saying we could match the stories to the right social media channel. That would be really key because no one's interested in this except those people who are already looking for it. So being able to present it in a way that's meaningful. Part of that would be anything that would be around the benefit back to the UK or the US- the country that's giving the money in the first place- would be fascinating. Because I think-
Jenni: ..Aid is defense.
Bridget: Yeah exactly. Because people genuinely sort of see it as an add-on, it's nice to be good to other people. They don't understand it stops you getting sick. If we invest this amount in pandemics, it saves that amount in the US not suffering from a horrific disease that comes over with someone on a plane.
Jen: And immigration, like you said.
Bridget: Yes immigration is another big one, the radicalization, the governance side. There’s a massive trade angle as well in terms of getting say UK contracts into a country- you don't get that unless you have something to offer and basically your aid budget is in part a buying tool to get UK contracts as well. You cannot negotiate that if you're not giving something. And so even if it's a small amount on HIV, which has got a huge personal sensible human benefit, what it's doing is giving the government in that particular country something they can talk about and say, “we are providing this to our people because we've negotiated it in”. So they're getting votes, they are getting their standing as a politician maintained and supported and in return, this is what they get for it. So in exactly the same way that Trump is doing with Ukraine and saying, “give us your minerals and we'll protect you”. In essence it's the same thing in terms of “we'll give you some health care, we'll give you some education. You'll get a stronger, more stable governance in your country and as a result you're going to be more economically stable. You're going to be able to attract investment into your country. This is what we want in terms of contracts for the UK.” So there are direct trade benefits, economic benefits as well as the ones around security, migration, health security and things like that. So anything that could give an indication of benefit back as a basically in import to these countries - UK or US - would be incredible.
On lighter versions- anything around encouraging companies to think through their their CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility] spend, what could be provided, what they have planned. Thinking through what what their money could do in terms of impact. Because I think there's vast amounts of investing but the impact is often very small compared to what you can actually achieve and sort of stretching that, the finances and saying well actually with this amount of money you could put it this way get so much more human benefit for it.
It's all about storytelling. There's just so much data out there around what these programs have done. All of which is normally only seen by the individuals who actually are involved in it. Drawing any of that together and presenting it to people who are normally interested would be hugely important. And then, then getting that back, whether writing to an MP and saying, look this is what that's showed me and I want to be a part of that and I want my taxes to go to doing that because I think it's a better, more cost efficient option than buying guns. Maybe something along those lines.
Jen: Thank you so, so much.
Bridget kindly sent me a follow-up / clarification from South Sudan:
UK has untied aid which means it's not a direct quid pro quo on aid = contracts or the recipient country _having_ to do something. It is however a factor in the donor countries relationship and can be learnt on in terms of wanting to maintain positive relationships with the donor entity which is underpinning core services
There is a tonne of stuff online about the impact of aid and what it delivers in terms of lives saved, kids put through school etc. but I suspect many people who aren't supportive of heir taxes being used for this in itself, would be more receptive to evidence as to what that knock on benefit is to themselves. I.e. it reduces human trafficking and illegal migration, it protects the UK from massive cost increases (many be more familiar with the fact that oil and gas I.e. their utilities bills and key products like wheat I.e. their shopping bill have gone up since the Ukraine war). Other products coming from other countries are similarly affected by conflict or poor infrastructure costs. People in uk get more for their money when the barriers to stable, peaceful investment, production etc are removed. It goes on.
The aid sector have always focused on telling the human element of why it's a good thing to do. The NGOs more than most as they have a funding incentive as they're trying to attract personal giving as well as winning contracts. The trouble is this resonates with people who are supportive of aid, or with people giving as a one off which feels food (I.e. Red Nose Day). What it doesn’t do is explain why - when people are feeling that they're struggling with cost of living and things are tight - should a constant tax be applied to help people in a different country. The wrong emphasis has been put on why we do aid for decades
// Meme-Storytelling: Aid as Defense
Let’s try riff on a few of Bridget’s powerAID ideas with some wordplay:
Aid is Defence.
Less Aid = Less Trade
Drake meme:
#aidcutsmigration #aidcutswar #aidcutsareanepidemic
Think aid spending is inflated? Get ready for global de-stabilisation-inflation.
Don’t Hurt Yourself, Help Yourself. Aid cuts harm US.
You want to know the real cost of aid cuts? Here’s a receipt. Aid needs a Re-fund.
It’s time to re-instate international aid and the US & UK’s global influence. Who benefits from cuts? Not us. (If that seems overly urgent, I don’t wanna Rush-ya. Just Chying-a have some puns.)
Ok last one, I promise:
Want a wall? Or a moat? Or a fence?
Aid is da fence.
Alright, alright, sorry that’s probably way too many preachy puns. You get the idea.
If you’re interested in more specific impacts of specific cuts, you can check out eg Better World Campaign or devex.com. Examples include: 1 million people in Syria have just lost their water, shelter and sanitation under the cuts. Ebola epidemic travel-control screening programs in Africa have also been halted. On yer bike lads!
Alright, enough. This isn’t Red Nose Day. Which reminds me, if you are for instance a BigTech employee like me you probably have a personal donation-matching or corporate social responsibility budget. Alright alright, I’m done.
// Tools I Used
ChatGPT: for brainstorming ideas on what to build and how including building a Twitter bot, generating bot reply text to offer another perspective when an X/Twitter user asks why we should fund aid abroad, and drafting emails to your UK MP. Even, in extreme laziness- writing prompts for me to give my AI coding agent.
X/Twitter: So yes, I now have an ex-Twitter developer account. Banned for being “inauthentic”, without specifics, but apparently that includes “manipulating X”, “fake personas” and “synthetic media”. I’m actually reassured to see that X is on the case with this stuff, because while the internet likes to nervously joke that social media is mostly just bots arguing with each other, after I saw the $4500 monthly X tier to monitor live tweets and make 300,000 posts monthly, I was worried. That’s expensive for an individual but peanuts for an organisation. So yes, X will ban you for attempting to artificially manipulate public discourse to spread the woke mind-virus. At least- it will on the free tier. (An example of what apparently IS permitted on X however.)
Replit: I was inspired by the Hard Fork podcast to try “Vibe-coding”, ie sort of giving the AI agent a challenge and watching it code, and feeding back and forth with it in regular English language chat to build an app or interactive website. There are different price tiers, I’m trying £25 for the month. It definitely helps if you are familiar with tech and code, but I think it’s magic and I might be getting addicted to this thing.
UK Gov APIs: I used the UK Parliament API for getting government representative (MP) names and contact info. The “They Work For You” API ChatGPT suggested first was missing some key info. (C’mon bros, even I’ve made better government APIs than that.)
// Try it: LemonAId WebSite App
So here’s the proof-of-concept website-app demo, at makelemonaid.replit.app. You enter a UK postal code, it pulls the name and email of your government rep (i.e. MP) and generates a draft email for you with a choice of polite, firm or meme-banter tones. Check it out! (I’m not storing the postcodes.) So, did we build something? Yes? Is it Good? Meh. There are a thousand ways this could be better. I gave it a decent shot in the hour I had available, lol.
Such is the nature of doing what you can with less. And I don’t disagree with looking to improve efficiency, either in coding projects or government spending. Far from it. I do also understand that there is a difference between taking Trump seriously and taking him at his literal word. I understand there are many hidden factors and a longer game at play. And I do see Trump’s efficient intended effects: like making the world take responsibility for its own defence.
And in Donald and Elon’s defence, they are being the change they wanted to see in the world. We’re always telling people to do that. We don’t have their resources. But we have some resources. Those in power are helping themselves, but maybe we can help ourselves too.
// Sneak Peak at JEN_AI website
The JEN_AI website at JenAI.com is Coming Soon! I used Replit to vibe-code this too. Here’s a sneak peek:
Is it Good? Is it Lawful? We can but hope!
// GEAR CHANGE: Someone Else Building Something. Good.
// Cressida Kocienski’s Feral Business
Cressida Kocienski is a force of nature. She runs a micro storytelling studio in the tech and design sectors, and is launching the awesomely-named “Feral Business”. Tagline: “Neurosupportive models for neurocomplex minds.“
Her unedited words:
Feral business is a slow platform exploring how to run a business as a neurodivergent and chronically ill person within all the constraints and contradictions of whatever this fresh hell is. Small businesses are interesting vehicles for agency and building economic wellbeing because there's a degree of flexibility and choice about how we work, when we work, who we work with, and the tools and economic models that we use.
I know that conventional models of productivity, scalability, and efficiency don't work for me. But I haven't found the support and resources that I've needed to, to do what I've already been doing intuitively, but with an unnecessary amount of cortisol. So I got curious and started taking the whole thing apart and putting it back together again, with conversations and collaborations, embracing instinct, adaptability, and creative resistance.
What happens when organisational resilience is built around flows of capacity, rather than rigid expectations? How do we create realistic linking architectures between erratic flows and rigid structures? What do neuro-supportive frameworks of leadership, project management, communication, storytelling and money management look like?
How are we experimenting with emergent AI tools to create tailored support structures for ourselves that might be basically all we can access in a landscape of budget cuts and rotting in queues for diagnosis and titration and mental health support and access to work? But also, how have we actually already built the world that we want to live in, and what's next?
Feral business is intended to be a rebellion, a sanctuary, a map, and a toolbox. It's for the people who are too ungovernable for conventional workplaces, or too different for conventional entrepreneurship, but still want to carve out a place where their work and their way of working matters. And also, honestly, for the people that don't understand why things can't be fairer, because they think they probably can.
So, Come join me on the platforms and get in touch for a chat if you have some thoughts or wish somebody had told me to share about running your own feral business.
© Cressida Kocienski, Feral Business 2025
That’s a teaser- this won’t be the last we hear from her. She’s Building Something Good.
// Never forget a thankyou
I should have thanked you, listener-reader-supporters - I never thank you. Thankyou for your support. A huge thankyou to Bridget and Cressida for their epic contributions to this JEN_AI project and the world at large. For their time, expertise, voices and their always-excellent company. Thankyou also to Kevin Roose from the New York Times Hard Fork podcast for inspiring me to try vibe-coding on Replit via his own AI experiments in making a Hot Tub Time Machine jacuzzi-maintenance website to aid a friend. Last one - I heard that Comrade Putin, Xi Xinping and a lot of extreme-ly rebel-ious groups also wanted to pass on their thanks to Trump and Musk too for handing them a power vacuum. They’re about to clean up. (Did I go too far there. Yeah probably. Don’t panic folks, it’s just a bitter pun. A harmless bit of fun. Whoops.)
A shoutout also to power-journalist Dan Bloom, for asking Trump and Starmer some real-life questions. (Kudos to Trump there for a tariff-ic pun.)
// Are We Feeling Good Yet?
So how are we feeling? Good? Good.
This is fine. It’s fine. We’re all going to be fine.
// This Week’s Theme Song(s)
Theme Song(s) added to the JEN_AI “Future But Retro” Playlist this week:
“Feeling Good” by Muse (I’m so sorry Nina Simone, but Muse was my muse.)
“Don’t Hurt Yourself” and “Formation” from the Lemonade album, by Beyoncé
// References
I’m constantly referencing stuff. Sorry. Here are explanations for some of it.
Beyoncé’s Lemonade album: after her husband’s infidelity, Beyoncé took the lemons life had thrown at her-and at Black history, Feminism and social justice- and made the groundbreaking visual-music album “Lemonade”, hailed by Wikipedia as one of the greatest of all time. “Let’s get in formation” and “Don’t Hurt Yourself” are references to her lyrics.
Alignment: AI Alignment = Making sure AI does what we actually intend. RPG Alignment = a character’s Moral / Ethical axis alignment in role-playing games
Red Nose Day is a comedian-hosted UK charitable giving day on 21st March where people pay a small amount to wear silly red noses and stuff
All views expressed are my own (or maybe Cressida’s, or Bridget’s, or a chatbot’s).
