What We Heard
Before we ran a single workshop, we listened.
The tools exist. The access doesn’t.
The workforce is changing. AI is reshaping the skills every job requires. And the people coming home from incarceration — already navigating employment barriers, housing instability, and the collateral consequences of a record — are being asked to compete in a market that barely welcomed them before AI changed everything.
There is currently no structured AI literacy program inside U.S. correctional facilities. Not one that teaches these tools, addresses the specific needs of people in reentry, and prepares them for what the job market now requires.
That’s the gap Ours to Build exists to fill.
60–75%
of formerly incarcerated individuals remain unemployed one year after release
Center for American Progress
39%
of worker skills will be disrupted by AI by 2030
World Economic Forum
~0
structured AI literacy programs exist in U.S. correctional facilities
Useful — but not for us.
The most striking finding from our research wasn’t that people hadn’t used AI. Most had. And most found it genuinely helpful — one of the most helpful tools they’d encountered for research, writing, and working through problems. But nearly three in five said they didn’t feel these tools were made with them in mind.
said they didn’t feel these tools were made with them in mind
Pre-program questionnaire — n=26, 92% justice-impacted
In their words
“I believe these apps are made for me because they don't show the bias that many people show. I live in Cleveland, Ohio and there are 2,679 Collateral Sanctions.”
Survey respondent, Cleveland, OH
“Based on the nature of the apps, as I've shared my justice-impacted status, I've curated my GPT to incorporate my unique circumstances into the responses and suggestions.”
Survey respondent, Columbus, OH
“My lived experience teaches me to get ahead of the wave of all future technology in order to be more than a last resort option on any level.”
Survey respondent
“I utilize them to fill the gaps of knowledge I have missed.”
Survey respondent
“They regurgitate societal bias... Had someone else who wasn't informed on the actual data asked this same question they would have taken on a belief that was completely false.”
Survey respondent
One room. One morning. Something shifted.
In January 2026, we delivered the first AI Futures workshop at Columbus Based Correctional Facility (CBCF)’s First Step Friday program. We didn’t know exactly what to expect. What we heard back told us the program was onto something real.
Workshop Satisfaction Scores
CBCF First Step Friday, January 2026 (n=16)
4.50
Confidence applying learnings
4.50
Understanding of AI
4.38
Will use ChatGPT more
4.62
Content felt relevant
What participants said
“I understand it a lot better. I would work with you on this and your journey.”
“Facilitator was 5 stars.”
“He did a great job explaining Chat AI.”
“Improved knowledge of how ChatGPT works and how it can help me in the future.”
“I'm good — I would like to know more.”
Nearly everyone who attended said they would want more sessions. Nearly everyone said they left feeling confident applying what they learned. The one ask that came through consistently: more. More time, more depth, more sessions. That’s the signal we’re building on.