About Ours to Build

Ours to Build started with a question: if AI tools are genuinely helpful to justice-impacted individuals — and our research shows they are — why isn't anyone teaching them inside correctional facilities?

The Founder

Rooted in lived experience and the notion that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution. Jacob is a computer science student specializing in agentic AI systems, computer vision, and dev ops. But what keeps him up at night is the knowledge that generative AI has the potential to change the lives of the most disenfranchised population in the world. AI literacy is transformative, and it takes a village to bring systemic change.

The Name

Our research revealed a striking contradiction: the people most impacted by the justice system find AI tools genuinely helpful, yet the majority do not believe those tools were designed with them in mind. That gap made one thing clear. Those closest to the problem cannot afford to sit passively while others shape the future on their behalf. They must be the builders. The name “Ours to Build” captures that conviction. This future will not be handed down. It will be constructed by the people who have the most at stake, and it belongs to all of us.