FAST-17 Reading List: Responsible AI for All Staff
Provider: 7formations | Course: FAST-17 | Instructor: Wadood Chaudhary | Links verified October 29, 2026
Readings on fairness, privacy, governance, and the future of work, for staff in any role. This course is not legal advice; the Massachusetts laws are listed so you know they exist and where to find them.
Suggested reading: the source book
Svekis, Laurence Lars. AI Literacy for All Employees: Understanding the Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Modern Workplace. Kindle edition, published February 25, 2026. 15 chapters plus an appendix quick-reference guide.
This course is built on chapters 8 to 12 and 14 of Laurence Lars Svekis's book and is presented by Wadood Chaudhary for 7formations. All course materials are written in our own words; the book is recommended reading, not a script. Read the mapped chapters before or right after each session. Where the book and 2026 sources differ, the course follows the dated sources listed below and says so.
| Session | Book chapters (Svekis, 2026) | What this course adds |
|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | 8. Ethics and Responsible AI Use; 9. Understanding AI Bias | Adds Massachusetts anti-discrimination law (G.L. c. 151B), the Attorney General advisory (April 2024), and NYC Local Law 144 bias audits as a concrete example |
| Session 2 | 10. Privacy and Data Protection in AI | Names the Massachusetts rules (G.L. c. 93H, 201 CMR 17.00), explains 2026 memory and model-training settings, and adds AI-enabled impersonation scams (FBI IC3) |
| Session 3 | 11. AI Governance and Compliance; 12. Stakeholder Engagement in AI; 14. The Future of AI in the Workplace | Adds NIST AI RMF in employee terms, EU AI Act Article 4 (AI literacy), Colorado SB26-189, the 2026 Work Trend Index on agents, and WEF skills data |
The book is listed as a required reading in each session below, with the companion AI Literacy Studio site as optional practice.
How to use. Required readings take 20 to 45 minutes per session and are done before (or right after) the session they support. Optional readings go deeper. 'Living page' means the publisher updates it continuously; read the current version. Reading times are estimates for the parts that matter to this course, not the whole document.
Session 1: Fair and accountable AI: ethics and bias
Required
-
Laurence Lars Svekis, AI Literacy for All Employees: Understanding the Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Modern Workplace (book)
Publisher: Laurence Lars Svekis (author); Kindle edition sold on Amazon | Date: Published February 25, 2026 | Reading time: about 45 min
URL: https://www.amazon.com/Literacy-All-Employees-Understanding-Intelligence-ebook/dp/B0GQ1LDHGH
Why read: Chapters 8 (Ethics and Responsible AI Use) and 9 (Understanding AI Bias). -
Fairness (Machine Learning Crash Course)
Publisher: Google for Developers | Date: Living course page | Reading time: about 15 min
URL: https://developers.google.com/machine-learning/crash-course/fairness
Why read: Plain explanations of where bias comes from in data, including the types used in the Lab 1 sort. -
Attorney General Advisory on the Application of the Commonwealth's Consumer Protection, Civil Rights, and Data Privacy Laws to Artificial Intelligence
Publisher: Massachusetts Attorney General's Office | Date: April 16, 2024 | Reading time: about 15 min
URL: https://www.mass.gov/doc/ago-ai-advisory-41624/download
Why read: The Massachusetts Attorney General's April 2024 advisory: existing consumer protection, anti-discrimination, and data laws apply to AI.
Optional
-
General Laws Chapter 151B, Section 4: Unlawful practices
Publisher: Massachusetts Legislature | Date: Current text | Reading time: about 10 min
URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter151B/Section4
Why read: The Massachusetts anti-discrimination law for employment. -
Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDT): Local Law 144
Publisher: NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection | Date: Living page | Reading time: about 10 min
URL: https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/automated-employment-decision-tools.page
Why read: A concrete example of a bias-audit rule for hiring tools (New York City).
Session 2: Protecting people's information
Required
-
Laurence Lars Svekis, AI Literacy for All Employees: Understanding the Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Modern Workplace (book)
Publisher: Laurence Lars Svekis (author); Kindle edition sold on Amazon | Date: Published February 25, 2026 | Reading time: about 25 min
URL: https://www.amazon.com/Literacy-All-Employees-Understanding-Intelligence-ebook/dp/B0GQ1LDHGH
Why read: Chapter 10 (Privacy and Data Protection in AI). -
Requirements for Data Breach Notifications
Publisher: Mass.gov, Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation | Date: Living page | Reading time: about 10 min
URL: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/requirements-for-data-breach-notifications
Why read: What counts as personal information in Massachusetts and when breach notice is required. -
How your data is used to improve model performance
Publisher: OpenAI Help Center | Date: Living page | Reading time: about 10 min
URL: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/5722486-how-your-data-is-used-to-improve-model-performance
Why read: How one vendor treats consumer versus business chats for training. -
Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud (PSA I-120324-PSA)
Publisher: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | Date: December 3, 2024 | Reading time: about 10 min
URL: https://www.ic3.gov/psa/2024/psa241203
Why read: The FBI's warning about AI-generated voice, video, and text in fraud.
Optional
-
201 CMR 17.00: Standards for the Protection of Personal Information of MA Residents
Publisher: Mass.gov, Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation | Date: Regulation page dated 10/19/2017 (in force since 2010) | Reading time: about 15 min
URL: https://www.mass.gov/regulations/201-CMR-1700-standards-for-the-protection-of-personal-information-of-ma-residents
Why read: The security program standards behind your employer's data rules. -
Scammers Impersonating Law Enforcement and Government Officials in Fraud Schemes
Publisher: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | Date: September 17, 2026 | Reading time: about 10 min
URL: https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2026/PSA260917
Why read: A 2026 FBI update on impersonation scams, including AI video calls.
Session 3: Governance, trust, and your future with AI
Required
-
Laurence Lars Svekis, AI Literacy for All Employees: Understanding the Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Modern Workplace (book)
Publisher: Laurence Lars Svekis (author); Kindle edition sold on Amazon | Date: Published February 25, 2026 | Reading time: about 60 min
URL: https://www.amazon.com/Literacy-All-Employees-Understanding-Intelligence-ebook/dp/B0GQ1LDHGH
Why read: Chapters 11 (AI Governance and Compliance), 12 (Stakeholder Engagement in AI), and 14 (The Future of AI in the Workplace). -
AI Risk Management Framework (overview page)
Publisher: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) | Date: Living page; AI RMF 1.0 released January 2023 | Reading time: about 10 min
URL: https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework
Why read: The NIST AI Risk Management Framework overview: govern, map, measure, manage. -
The Future of Jobs Report 2025, Chapter 3: Skills Outlook
Publisher: World Economic Forum | Date: January 7, 2025 | Reading time: about 15 min
URL: https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/in-full/3-skills-outlook/
Why read: Skills employers expect to grow by 2030, for your 90-day learning plan.
Optional
-
AI Act (regulatory framework overview and application timeline)
Publisher: European Commission, Shaping Europe's digital future | Date: Living page (updated after the AI Omnibus, 2026) | Reading time: about 10 min
URL: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/regulatory-framework-ai
Why read: The EU AI Act overview, including its AI literacy duty for organizations. -
SB26-189 Automated Decision-Making Technology
Publisher: Colorado General Assembly | Date: Signed May 14, 2026; applies to decisions on or after January 1, 2027 | Reading time: about 10 min
URL: https://www.leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb26-189
Why read: Colorado's 2026 law on automated decision-making, a sign of where U.S. rules are heading. -
Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact
Publisher: Pew Research Center | Date: June 17, 2026 (survey conducted February 17 to 23, 2026) | Reading time: about 15 min
URL: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2026/06/17/americans-and-ai-2026-chatbots-smart-devices-and-views-on-impact/
Why read: How Americans view AI in 2026: majorities worry about data security and the pace of change. -
AI Literacy Studio (companion site to the book)
Publisher: Laurence Lars Svekis, DiscoveryVIP | Date: Living page | Reading time: about 15 min
URL: https://discoveryvip.com/ai-literacy-studio/
Why read: The book's companion site, with practice material.
Link verification
Every URL above was checked on October 29, 2026 with an HTTP request (status 200 after redirects) or, where the publisher's site blocks automated requests (mass.gov, dol.gov, hhs.gov, cdc.gov, openai.com), by loading the page and confirming its title and content. Links that returned 404 during checking were dropped and are not listed. The instructor re-checks links before each cohort.