Building tech architectures that expand human agency
Technology is rewriting the rules of every field, reshaping democracy, health, education, economic inclusion, and the climate. We’re at a turning point where tech can either diminish our agency or strengthen our collective power to shape what comes next. The future depends on which architecture we build. We need to design for empowerment instead of extraction, for agency instead of automation, and for shared purpose instead of profit.
Ashoka’s work begins with the belief that everyone can be a powerful changemaker—and that technology, done right, can help unlock that potential at scale. Ashoka Fellows are already building solutions that make polarization expensive, democratize access to knowledge, or ensure that communities—not platforms—control their data. When activated together, this network becomes a field-shaping force. This is the core of Tech for Human Agency. We activate Ashoka's 45-year global network of proven social innovators around a shared purpose: technology that expands human agency rather than extracting from it.
From Measuring One Harm to a Measurement Commons
Our experience with the Polarization Footprint is showing us what's possible when we measure what matters with scientific rigor and an eye to making it actionable.
This is why, we are launching the Measurement Commons: a shared coordination layer for measuring what technology does to people, communities and the planet, to make that evidence count in policy, litigation, tech design, economic incentives, and cultural change.
The Commons has two core components that work together. A public registry of vetted measurement instruments that look at tech harms and benefits; and a set of joint actions that become possible once this infrastructure exists, such as composite studies in strategic geographies or shared Standards advocacy briefs.