Project summary

The AI Latino Literacy Forum is an intergenerational civic education initiative designed to move Latino families in North Fair Oaks and the broader San Mateo County region from passive consumers of AI technology to informed advocates for responsible AI policy.

North Fair Oaks is more than 70% Latino, a community where residents are disproportionately exposed to automated decision-making in hiring, healthcare, housing, and schools, yet almost entirely absent from the conversations shaping how those systems are governed. A 2024 Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Policy Brief documents that Latinos are disproportionately impacted by algorithmic bias. A 2025 UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute report shows Latino workers face the highest automation risk of any demographic group, compounded by language barriers and limited access to digital upskilling.

This Forum addresses that gap directly. The pilot cohort of 25 individuals will complete two three-hour sessions. The first focused on hands-on AI literacy and the second on navigating systemic risks and building a civic advocacy voice. Before either session runs, the curriculum will be shaped through a 90-minute Community Co-Design session, ensuring the Forum reflects the priorities of the families it serves rather than assumptions about them.

Fiscal sponsorship and host organization support is provided by El Concilio of San Mateo County. Redwood City Together is a confirmed community partner.

The Forum is built on a single conviction: access to these conversations should not require credentials or an invitation. It should be available to every family preparing for the future.

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

Goal 1: Build Functional AI Literacy

By the end of Session 1, participants will be able to describe how AI works, identify where AI is already making decisions in their daily lives, and use AI tools effectively and responsibly. The measure of success is not whether they can define a neural network, it is whether they can ask the right questions when an automated system affects their family.

Goal 2: Develop a Question-First Civic Mindset

By the end of Session 2, participants will be equipped to ask real accountability questions of technology companies, school boards, and government agencies.

How will this funding be used?

The funds will be used for participant stipends and childcare to ensure families can show up and return, professional translation so the content is actually accessible, expert facilitation to ensure the quality of what is delivered, and curriculum materials participants can take home and act on.

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

The Forum is led by Irving Torres, a first-generation Peruvian American from San Mateo County with over a decade in public policy and AI governance. This includes six and a half years advising a county supervisor and builder of JuntosGen.ai. Irving is now bringing both the community trust to reach Latino families and the technical credibility to teach them accurately. Irving is partnering with El Concilio of San Mateo County as fiscal sponsor and confirmed community partner and many others.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

The three most likely failure points are participant drop-off between sessions, translation breaking down under the complexity of AI and policy content, and participants completing the Forum with new knowledge but not following through on civic action. Each risk is already addressed in the program design such as stipends and childcare incentivize return, translation is built in as a design requirement from day one.

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

None