The Ethics Engine
FairByDesign’s public-interest reporting and conversation series: investigations talked through, interviews, video explainers and public conversations about the AI systems shaping everyday life.
How It Works
FairByDesign reporting and Evidence Lab tests: what a claim says, what we found and what remains unresolved.
Each investigation talked through: the context, the people involved and what it means for the rest of us.
Conversations with people who work inside these systems, and short explainers that make the machinery visible.
The free weekly briefing that carries the next finding and the next episode.
Why It Exists
- Clarity: turn complex regulation and system behavior into language people can actually use.
- Dialogue: create a public space where AI governance is discussed, not hidden behind specialist walls.
- Practical Understanding: connect policy, engineering, and lived impact without flattening the complexity.
- Public Accountability: make responsible AI part of civic understanding, not just internal compliance talk.
What the series includes
Investigations, talked through
Episodes that follow a FairByDesign investigation from the documents to the people it affects.
Outcome: orientation and shared understanding.
Interviews
Public-facing conversations and interviews that deepen the signal, widen the lens, and invite broader participation.
Outcome: dialogue and social understanding.
Video explainers
Visual explainers, selected educational materials, and open-access resources that help people engage the subject without specialist gatekeeping.
Outcome: accessibility and public literacy.
How to Participate
- Subscribe to The Mercury Brief for the public signal.
- Watch or listen on the Listen page, YouTube and Spotify.
- Support the reporting to help keep the public-interest work open and independent.
- Go deeper through books, research, and practical guides when you need more structure.
What It Leads Into
- Research Subscription: for readers who want deeper analysis and premium research.
- Books & Practical Guides: for structured, topic-based field guidance.
- Training, Workshops & Clinics: for teams moving from awareness to operational action.
What Success Looks Like
- More people understanding how AI systems affect rights, safety, and opportunity
- More usable public language around governance, oversight, privacy, and security
- More bridges between technical work and public consequence
- A stronger culture of accountability around systems already shaping everyday life
Why Support Matters
Public-interest work is easiest to praise and hardest to sustain. The Ethics Engine exists because this subject needs not only expert treatment, but public treatment. Patron support helps keep that layer alive, accessible, and independent.
Follow the Ethics Engine
Start with the latest episode, get the free Mercury Brief for the next one, and support the reporting that keeps AI accountability visible and public.