Encode Justice

Sneha Revanur founded the organization while in high school. Revanur has been described as “the Greta Thunberg of AI.” ⁴ It claims that AI “algorithms are being used as tools of oppression.” ¹

Encode Justice was founded by Sneha Revanur in 2020 when she was a high school student at Evergreen Valley High School in San Jose, California. ⁵ Its initial focus was on the use of AI in the criminal justice system and surveillance, and was primarily funded by left-leaning Omidyar Network. ²

As of October 2023, Encode Justice is in over 40 states and over 30 countries with over 600 high school and college students as members. ⁶

It is a fiscal project of Future Incubator, ⁷ a joint program of left-wing advocacy group March On and its youth-led Future Coalition that provides fiscal sponsorship and consulting to youth activist groups. ⁸

Encode Justice claims that because AI algorithms are designed to imitate human thoughts and behavior, future AI decisions will be based on discrimination and racism against Black, Brown, and low-income communities. ⁹ Some of the headlines posted on the Encode Justice blog are: “How the Racism Baked Into Technology Hurts Teens,” “ICE rigged its algorithms to keep immigrants in jail,” and “Over 1,000 AI Experts Condemn Racist Algorithms That Claim to Predict Crime.” ¹⁰

Advocacy

The Encode Justice advocacy team spends weekends convening phone banks. In 2021 Encode Justice supported a proposed national ban on the use of facial-recognition technology. ¹¹

In 2022, Encode Justice lobbied the OSTP for an AI Bill of Rights with provisions that included an audited AI environment, transparency in how AI is used to influence decisions, and limitations on the use of surveillance. It was planning to lobby in favor of the Algorithmic Accountability Act ¹² which had been previously introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY). ¹³

In May 2023 Encode Justice sent an open letter to Congress and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) that demanded increased representation from young people in discussions and decisions related to AI tech policy. ¹⁴

In January 2026, it was reported Encoded had donated roughly $10,000 to the campaign for State Rep. Doug Fiefta (R-UT), who is running for Utah State Senate for District 18 in November 2026. According to the Washington Examiner, that same month, State Rep. Fiefia introduced H.B. 286, the Artificial Intelligence Transparency Act, which would “require AI companies to promulgate public safety and child protection plans and report any issues concerning those topics to state authorities.” ^{15 16} Following the bill’s introduction, Encode’s vice president of public policy released a statement endorsing the legislation, claiming “We’ve learned from social media that we can’t trust tech companies to voluntarily choose to protect our families. With families already suffering immense AI driven tragedies, we must take steps today to protect our children. We applaud Rep. Fiefia for again leading the way on common sense protections for Utahns.” ¹⁷

Community Organizing

In September 2021, Encode Justice partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union Massachusetts and the Student Immigrant Movement for a student week of action against facial-recognition in schools, which was being used to increase student safety. It also had plans to partner with Algorithmic Justice League on projects against AI injustice in education. ¹⁸

Education and Content Creation

Encode Justice claims to offer 1-hour online AI Ethics workshops focused on specific areas of concern. As of April 2023, Encode Justice had conducted workshops for over 15,000 students. ¹⁹ The Encode Justice education team contacts high school teachers offering educational presentations on the risks of AI. ¹¹

EJ on Air is a podcast posted by the California chapter that describes the risks of discriminatory algorithms. ²⁰

Funding

Encode Justice is funded by Omidyar Network, America’s Promise Alliance, We Are Family Foundation, Princeton Prize in Race Relations, and individual donations. ²¹

Leadership

Sneha Revanur is founder and president of Encode Justice. She is a student at Williams College majoring in political economy. During her high school and college years, Revanur has been a campaign intern for Representative Cori Bush (D-MO), a Justice Initiative coordinator at Harvard University Law School, and a research assistant at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ⁵ She is a summer policy fellow at left-of-center Washington, D.C. think tank and advocacy group Center for AI and Digital Policy, and a core team member of Design It For Us, a youth led activist coalition focused on advancing legislation on tech policies. ²²

Revanur has been featured in the news, including CNN, the Guardian, POLITICO, CNBC, and the New York Times. She has presented at several conferences and organizations, including the United States Department of Education and the Biden administration Office of Science and Technology Policy. ⁵ Politico has referred to her as “the Greta Thunberg of AI.” ² In September 2023, she was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence in the TIME100/AI list. ²³