Read the latest news, commentary, and analysis from the Ash Center.
Commentary
In this paper, Mary W. Graham, co-director of the Center’s Transparency Policy Project, explores the unintended information inequities that weaken the nation’s vital health and safety alerts. By examining three policies — wildfire alerts, drinking water reports, and auto safety recalls — she suggests common sources of inequality problems and steps policy makers are taking to remedy them.
Newest
Video
The GETTING-Plurality Research Network at the Ash Center’s Allen Lab and Connection Science at MIT Media Lab hosted a webinar event focused on “AI and the 2024 Elections”. In this session, we hear from Danielle Allen, Harvard University; Sandy Pentland, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Nate Persily, Stanford University. Each presenter gives a lightning talk, followed by audience Q&A.
Video
The Political Economy of AI Conference was convened by the GETTING-Plurality Research Network, a project of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, housed at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
Podcast
Alex Keyssar sits down with Democracy Paradox in an episode sponsored by the Ash Center for a discussion of his book, Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?
Podcast
In a two part episode of AshCast, Archon Fung and Khalil Gibran Muhammad discuss campus protests, civil disobedience, and the role speech and democracy as universities across the country grapple with how to respond to this latest wave of protest activity.
Feature
15 noteworthy recent releases handpicked by the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability (IARA) Project.
Commentary
New Crowd Counting Consortium analysis from Nonviolent Action Lab Program Director Jay Ulfelder sets the record straight on arrests numbers and claims of violence stemming from protests sparked by the war in Gaza.
Commentary
In a new essay, Archon Fung looks at this current wave of campus protests and asks if civil disobedience is permissible, and how much disruption should be tolerated at universities today.
Feature
By taking a new approach to its digital service delivery methods, Alper believes that Boston can harness democratic innovations to help heal the wounds left by the city’s legacy of racism and disinvestment.
Feature
At the Ash Center, Lawrence Lessig, Matthew Seligman, and Ian Bassin discuss the looming threats to our next presidential election.