Guidance for Inclusive AI

Published in 2022, this guidebook is essential for understanding the importance of designing AI systems with, not just for, marginalized communities. It critiques current development practices and offers a grounded, human-centered framework for more ethical and equitable technology design. The “Design from the Margins” methodology is a design process that centers the most impacted and marginalized users across the development lifecycle.

This guidebook, released in February 2025, emphasizes the importance of engaging affected stakeholders throughout the design, development, deployment, and oversight of generative AI (genAI) products and services. Such engagement is vital for identifying and addressing potential impacts on people and society, ensuring that AI systems are developed responsibly and inclusively. This guide outlines the human rights foundations for stakeholder engagement, discusses challenges specific to genAI, and offers practical tips for meaningful engagement across the AI value chain.

Published in 2023 by the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law, this framework targets anyone building AI, machine learning, or algorithm-based data analytics to understand how to engage with stakeholders at different points in the software development process. In addition to providing explainers on the qualities of meaningful engagement, it also includes an outline of steps to take to identify a shared purpose with participants, develop a trustworthy process, and have a visible impact.

This guidebook, published in 2021, is a good primer for understanding the basics of inclusive research for consumer AI products. It provides key definitions and sets the framework for those not previously informed about the topic. It sets the stage for deeper exploration into methods that center equity and empathy in human-centered research.

This guidebook is a collection of practical guidance for designing human-centered AI products based on research and lessons learned at Google. The guidebook includes overviews of key concepts, case studies from different Google teams applying the guidance, and training tools for teams.

This report published in 2020 by the AI Now Institute is essential for understanding the broader societal impacts of AI. It offers guidance on implementing inclusive practices and stakeholder engagement in AI development.​ The authors provide recommendations for policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers to promote transparency, fairness, and inclusivity in AI technologies. The report also answers questions such as: what does it mean for AI to be inclusive; why is inclusive AI required; and, how can inclusivity in AI be achieved.

This position paper, published in 2021, helps clarify the limitations of current inclusion efforts in AI development. It emphasizes the importance of equitable power distribution to create effective and just AI systems.

This position paper was published in 2020 by a group of Indigenous scholars and activists hailing from communities in Aotearoa, Australia, North American, and the Pacific (and some non-Indigenous allies). It is a collection of different contributions ranging from essays to prototypes, including a section on “Guidelines for Indigenous -centred AI Design v.1.” This section outlines a way to approach AI design that is grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being, providing a necessary contrast to Western frameworks.

This academic paper, published in 2022, provides case studies of participatory engagement. The authors provide a historical overview of the role of participatory engagement in the AI field, alongside an empirical analysis of the benefits and challenges of implementing “participatory AI” through the examination of three case studies.

This position paper, published in 2025, argues for AI as a collective resource and the right for all people to govern and benefit from AI. It proposes a “Right to AI,” which asserts that individuals and communities should meaningfully participate in the development and governance of the AI systems that shape their lives.