FOUNDER/CEO

Everett N. Kelsey Jr. is the Founder and CEO of Fifth Industrial Revolution AI (5IR AI)—a civic media platform designed to awaken public consciousness around the invisible power structures shaping our future. A technologist and futurist with roots in the entertainment industry, Kelsey has built 5IR AI into the cultural vanguard of a growing movement for digital self-determination, public oversight of artificial intelligence, and the protection of civil liberties in the age of machines that think.

But Kelsey’s mission isn’t just technological—it’s generational. He is the grandson of Dr. George D. Kelsey, the moral philosopher and theologian who mentored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., shaping the ethical framework of the Civil Rights Movement. That legacy of moral clarity, intellectual courage, and human dignity runs through every layer of Everett Kelsey’s work—translated now into a digital era where code, cloud infrastructure, and surveillance systems are the new battlegrounds for justice.

Interconnected Ecosystem for Ethical AI

Kelsey leads a tightly integrated ecosystem of organizations, each fulfilling a strategic role in building a sovereign, ethical, and inclusive digital future:

Fifth Industrial Revolution AI (5IR AI) is the public voice—a media platform and town crier that breaks down AI, policy, and surveillance into clear, viral narratives for everyday citizens. Through video essays, cultural storytelling, and media critique, 5IR AI exposes what’s hidden behind the code and contracts.
Digital Sovereignty Coalition (DSC) is the organizing force—a nonpartisan civic initiative mobilizing public-private partnerships, ethical tech policy, and grassroots coalitions. DSC frames the struggle for AI governance as the Digital Civil Rights Movement of our time.
BLKMKT AI is the infrastructure lab—a software company building culturally fluent, ethically grounded AI systems.
BLKMKT Tech is the deployment arm—a consulting firm helping institutions integrate ethical, equitable, and community-informed AI infrastructure into their real-world operations.

Together, these entities reflect a holistic approach: media to inform, policy to protect, technology to empower.

From Storytelling to Systems-Building

Kelsey began his career in the entertainment industry as a writer, director, and actor, with projects featured in top festivals including Slamdance, ABFF, and Final Draft’s Big Break. But as the media landscape began shifting toward AI-driven manipulation and algorithmic gatekeeping, Kelsey recognized a larger fight was unfolding—one that required leaving the stage and entering the system.

A Global Lens, A Grounded Mission

Born in Brooklyn, raised between Manhattan and the world, Everett has lived on both coasts of the United States and in Germany—experiences that shaped his multilingual, multicultural worldview. Fluent in English and German (currently studying Russian), Kelsey sees the rise of authoritarianism, surveillance capitalism, and digital exploitation not as isolated trends—but as global phenomena with localized consequences. His leadership blends cross-sector fluency (in media, tech, academia, and activism) with moral clarity rooted in his family’s legacy. Where Dr. Kelsey helped shape the conscience of the Civil Rights era mentoring Dr. King, Jr., Everett Kelsey is now shaping the conscience of the algorithmic age—ensuring the next generation of AI doesn’t just predict behavior, but protects humanity.

In Everett’s words: “AI doesn’t have to be a threat to civil rights. But left unchallenged, it will be. Fifth Industrial Revolution AI is here to make sure the people stay in the loop—not just technically, but culturally, politically, and morally.”

Follow Everett and the work of 5IR AI to stay at the intersection of code and conscience, tech and truth, systems and society.