The ‘real world of AI’ is not a fictional place or concept. There is a real world of AI that we should aspire towards, and that is within our reach. A world where the design of technology includes the practice of justice and on the enforcement of limits to power. Franklin’s work offers us a powerful lens for thinking about where we are today—and how we might create a more just and equitable world of technology tomorrow. This paper explores her framing of technology as a system, and her breakdown of the differences between holistic and prescriptive technologies, which give us useful tools for understanding our world, where technology is shaped by a small handful of global companies (e.g. AliBaba and Amazon) and imperial nations (e.g. China and the United States). Franklin’s thinking may also help us find our way towards a world where AI balances the interests of the people who develop tools (often tech companies), the people who wield them (each of us) and society (all of us).