I make AI make sense for

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I report on AI systems that make decisions about people, and I build with AI in public. Anyone a system makes a decision about deserves to know how it was made and who is responsible for it.

MODEL CARDv2026.10
Ethan Ward in a black turtleneck, smiling, against a grey background.
Ethan WardProduct strategist and journalist
Trained on
Journalism, human-computer interaction, public diplomacy, AI policy
Evaluations
11 projects, 2024 to 2026
Best for
Anyone who needs AI explained, reported on or built
Top result
2026 Online Journalism Award, Excellence in AI Innovation
  • 11AI projects in reporting, product, policy and research
  • 2026 Online Journalism AwardExcellence in AI Innovation, Small/Medium Newsroom, for The Thread
  • 2026 Communicator Award of DistinctionNewsletter or Email Series, for The Thread: Love of Craft
  • 2025 LA Press Club AwardsThird place, Technology Reporting, for the L.A. County AI investigation
  • Pulitzer Center and Omidyar NetworkGrants for AI accountability reporting

What the judges said

“A really innovative idea that uses AI to find patterns across obituaries and turn them into meaningful cultural journalism. Using data as a jumping-off point for deeper reporting, The Thread offers a thoughtful new way to surface connections across individual lives and engage readers in making sense of them.”
Judges’ comments, 2026 Online Journalism Awards. Read the winning entry ↗

Intended use

What I’m useful for, shown for everyone. Change it in the sentence at the top of the page.

Primary uses

  • Explaining AI to people who aren’t experts
  • Reporting on AI systems that make decisions about people
  • Building AI-assisted products with a person in charge

Out of scope

  • Publishing an AI-surfaced pattern before it’s checked against the original source
  • Generating likenesses of the people in a story
  • Letting a model make the editorial call

Evaluations

Eleven projects, each with the question it tested and what came back. Ordered for everyone.

  1. 01The Thread
  2. 02The Algorithm Says Crisis, the Social Worker Says Trust
  3. 03AI stories for business clients
  4. 04Fighting Misinformation in Africa
  5. 05Essays on AI
  6. 06AI Governance Briefing
  7. 07Coded Out
  8. 08“It Feels Like We Are on Our Own”
  9. 09Voices from Beyond
  10. 10Who Is Medicine Trained to See?Pending
  11. 11The Fight to See What AI Says About YouPending
01AI product · HEATDRAWN Media · Dec. 2024 to Dec. 2025

The Thread

What it testedCan AI help one journalist find patterns across 100 to 200 obituaries a week without writing the journalism?

54%average open rate across 39 issues, with a 10.64% click-through rate
  • 2026 Online Journalism Award, Excellence in AI Innovation
  • 2026 Communicator Award of Distinction, Love of Craft series
Visit the archive ↗
02Investigation · AfroLA · Dec. 2024

The Algorithm Says Crisis, the Social Worker Says Trust

What it testedWhat does L.A. County’s homelessness prediction model get right, and who does it miss?

62%of cases still missed, even at 3.5 times better detection
  • 2025 LA Press Club Awards, third place, Technology Reporting
  • Solutions Journalism Network recognition
03Branded editorial · Stacker Studio · Dec. 2024 to Mar. 2025

AI stories for business clients

What it testedCan AI trends be explained to general readers on behalf of corporate clients?

5stories, syndicated to nearly 4,000 media partners
Read the stories ↗
04Policy white paper · The Black Policy Institute · May 2025

Fighting Misinformation in Africa

What it testedWhy does AI built elsewhere misread African contexts, and what kind of governance fits instead?

27pages, with expert panels in Kenya and Nigeria
05Reported essays · INHERITANCE · Mar. to Jul. 2026

Essays on AI

What it testedHow is AI changing policing, power and life at home?

3essays on facial recognition, OpenAI’s safety board and AI as a social divide
Read the essays ↗
06Analysis · iamethanward.com · Since Mar. 2026

AI Governance Briefing

What it testedWhat happens when AI policy meets implementation, and when company promises meet practice?

Ongoingnew analysis added regularly
Read the Briefing ↗
07Policy podcast · The Black Policy Institute, London · 2026

Coded Out

What it testedWhat happens when facial recognition, automation and predictive policing make decisions no one explains?

3episodes, produced and hosted
08User research · MSc thesis, University College Dublin · 2024

“It Feels Like We Are on Our Own”

What it testedHow do Black LGBTQ+ creators on TikTok experience algorithmic bias, and how do they work around it?

5in-depth interviews plus a survey, with thematic and narrative analysis
Read the study ↗
09Research design · MSc, University College Dublin

Voices from Beyond

What it testedHow do AI voice clones of people who have died affect grief, trust and public opinion?

3methods designed: interviews, a survey and an experiment. Not fielded
10Investigation · Supported by the Pulitzer Center · Publishing fall 2026

Who Is Medicine Trained to See?

What it testedAn AI device promises to help family doctors recognize skin cancer. What can patients and doctors reasonably take from its reassurance?

PendingIn fact-checking now
  • Pulitzer Center reporting grant
11Investigation · With AfroLA · Publishing October 2026

The Fight to See What AI Says About You

What it testedWhen AI makes decisions in hiring, retail surveillance and consumer credit, can the people affected find out enough to understand or challenge them?

PendingPublishing October 2026. Built on public records from Los Angeles and New York City
  • Omidyar Network Tech Journalism Fund grant

Training data

Education, certification and the methods I use.

Education

  • MSc, Human-Computer InteractionUniversity College Dublin
  • Master of Public DiplomacyUniversity of Southern California
  • BA, JournalismUniversity of Southern California

Certification

  • AI Policy CertificateCenter for AI and Digital Policy

Methods

  • Product strategy and format design
  • Audience growth, retention and revenue modeling
  • User research through interviews, surveys, and thematic and narrative analysis
  • Systems analysis of algorithmic tools
  • AI-assisted pattern detection, checked by hand
  • Investigative and embedded reporting

Limitations and known biases

Every model card lists what the model won’t do. These are mine.

  • Won’t publish a pattern AI found until I’ve checked it against the original source.
  • Won’t use AI to generate likenesses of the people I report on.
  • Not on social media. Email works.
“An unexplained decision teaches you that correction was never part of the design.”
From The Algorithm Doesn’t Owe You an Explanation, INHERITANCE, March 2026

Changelog

Releases, most recent first.

  1. 2026.09Won the 2026 Online Journalism Award for Excellence in AI Innovation for The Thread.
  2. 2026.07Published “AI Is the New ‘Who Did You Vote For?’” in INHERITANCE.
  3. 2026.05The Thread’s Love of Craft series won a 2026 Communicator Award of Distinction.
  4. 2026.04Awarded a Pulitzer Center grant for AI accountability reporting. Published “OpenAI Built a Safety Board. Then It Disappeared.”
  5. 2026.03Launched the AI Governance Briefing. Published “The Algorithm Doesn’t Owe You an Explanation.”
  6. 2026.01Awarded an Omidyar Network Tech Journalism Fund grant for an investigation into AI in hiring, retail surveillance and credit.
  7. 2026Produced and hosted Coded Out, a three-part AI policy podcast, in London.
  8. 2025.12Closed The Thread after 39 issues and a six-part finale.
  9. 2025.05Led Fighting Misinformation in Africa, a white paper for The Black Policy Institute.
  10. 2025Won third place for Technology Reporting at the LA Press Club Awards.
  11. 2024.12Launched The Thread. Published the L.A. County AI investigation at AfroLA.
  12. 2024Finished an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction with a thesis on algorithmic bias on TikTok.

Talk about AI work

I take on AI product and strategy roles, consulting projects and talks. Tell me what you’re working on and I’ll get back to you.

Get in touch