How fftc:FWD uses AI
Responsible AI Principles
fftc:FWD exists to help more people in Charlotte-Mecklenburg find what they need to lead on the issues and topics they care about. The platform uses AI to help explain civic issues, surface useful connections, and make trusted civic knowledge easier to explore, understand, and use. The goal is not to replace local judgment.
When someone explores a topic, relationship, or civic question through fftc:FWD, AI may help draft plain-language explanations, synthesize source material, or shape public-facing civic content. These outputs are designed to help residents, donors, nonprofit partners, public leaders, and community members ask better questions, see connections across silos, and find credible next steps.
Our principles
AI serves civic understanding; it does not replace civic judgment.
AI can help summarize, organize, and explain complex information. It cannot decide what a community values, what action should be taken, or what tradeoffs are acceptable. fftc:FWD uses AI as a support tool for learning and civic framing, not as a substitute for the judgment of residents, community partners, subject-matter experts, FFTC staff, or civic leaders.
Source grounding matters.
fftc:FWD is built around Folio material, curated local knowledge, public reports, datasets, and source notes where available. When the platform includes specific facts, related reading, or source-backed references, those items come from known source material rather than being invented by the AI system. AI may help explain relationships and write plain-language narrative. We do not use it to fabricate local statistics, organizations, programs, source titles, URLs, or neighborhood claims.
We are clear about what the platform is and is not.
fftc:FWD is a civic learning and action platform. AI-assisted outputs on the platform are not comprehensive research reports, complete directories of every organization or program, live maps of community conditions, grantmaking decision tools, or professional advice. They are starting points for exploration and conversation, not final answers.
Human judgment and review remain essential.
AI-assisted civic analysis needs review, correction, and context. fftc:FWD gives staff tools to inspect source material, review AI-assisted outputs, see what source context shaped them, and collect feedback when something needs to be clarified or corrected. FFTC and its partners use that review and feedback to improve sources, framing, and public-facing content over time. Questions or possible corrections can be sent to fwd@fftc.org.
Privacy and restraint are part of responsible use.
Current public fftc:FWD AI-assisted experiences do not require users to share sensitive personal information in order to learn from the platform. When fftc:FWD asks for optional context, we limit that context to what is useful for the requested experience. We do not treat those prompts as an invitation to share private health, financial, legal, or identifying information.
We avoid overclaiming.
AI can produce fluent language even when evidence is incomplete. That is why fftc:FWD distinguishes between source-backed facts, civic interpretation, general context, and future ideas. When source coverage is thin, we limit the claim or say less rather than imply more certainty than the evidence supports.
We improve the work over time.
Responsible AI use is not a one-time statement. It is an ongoing practice: we review sources, check outputs, listen for feedback, correct mistakes, improve the knowledge base, and decide carefully which future platform experiences are ready for public use. As fftc:FWD grows into more personalized, local, or interactive experiences, we apply the same principles with even greater care.