Ash Center logo

News and Analysis

Read the latest news, commentary, and analysis from the Ash Center.

A hand pressing a tablet using AI.

Q+A

Q & A: Crocodile tears, Can the ethical-moral intelligence of AI models be trusted?

As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in everyday decision-making, its role in shaping how people think about ethics and morality is drawing increasing scrutiny. In this conversation with researcher Sarah Hubbard, we discuss insights from her co-authored paper, “Crocodile Tears: Can the Ethical-Moral Intelligence of AI Models Be Trusted?”—examining how AI systems respond to moral dilemmas, and what this reveals about the risks, limitations, and need for greater transparency and human oversight in AI-driven ethical guidance.

Read The Story

Filter by

  • Issue Areas
  • Programs
  • Format

Filters

Close

Filters

Issue Areas
Programs
Format

523 Items

of 59

Newest

Funding Women’s Human Security: The Interaction of State Domestic Violence Policies and Federal Grants
Picture of Community Mobilization

Feature

Funding Women’s Human Security: The Interaction of State Domestic Violence Policies and Federal Grants

Domestic violence is one of the most pervasive threats to women’s human security in the United States, yet it remains among the least visible. It cuts across age, income, race, and education, with one in four women and one in nine men experiencing severe abuse from an intimate partner. Despite the scale of the crisis, responses to domestic violence vary widely across states.

Supply Skeptics or Abundance Acolytes? Mayoral Views on the Housing Crisis
Image of city buildings

Feature

Supply Skeptics or Abundance Acolytes? Mayoral Views on the Housing Crisis

Economists and policy analysts broadly agree that more housing needs to be built in order to reduce costs in America’s most expensive cities. Using a novel survey of mayors of mid-sized and large cities to explore mayors’ views on the roots of America’s housing crisis and what solutions they believe will most effectively address their constituents’ housing challenges, the authors summarize mayors’ attitudes and perceptions on key issues related to expanding the housing supply, reporting how well these views correlate with mayors’ assessments of their own cities’ supply needs.

Transparency is Insufficient: Lessons From Civic Technology for Anticorruption

Commentary

Transparency is Insufficient: Lessons From Civic Technology for Anticorruption

Allen Lab Researcher David Riveros Garcia draws on his experience building civic technology to fight corruption in Paraguay to make the case that effective civic technology must include power and collective action in its design.

The Harvard Project Announces 2025 Honoring Nations Award Winners
An image of the awards presentation.

Media Release

The Harvard Project Announces 2025 Honoring Nations Award Winners

The national awards program Honoring Nations, flagship program of the Harvard Project, announces the recipients of the 2025 Honoring Nations Awards, recognizing 6 governmental initiatives for outstanding excellence in tribal self-governance.

Digital Civic Infrastructure for Massachusetts Workshop

Feature

Digital Civic Infrastructure for Massachusetts Workshop

The Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation and Bloomberg Center for Cities brought together civic technologists, researchers, as well as municipal and state leaders across Massachusetts for a workshop on digital civic infrastructure.

The Resistance Reaches into Trump Country

Feature

The Resistance Reaches into Trump Country

As organizers for No Kings 2 seek historic turnout on October 18, the broader pro-democracy movement has already broken new ground.

Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact
College students throwing graduation caps in the air with an American flag background.

Commentary

Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact

Last week’s leak of the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” drew intense reactions across academia. Critics call it government overreach threatening free expression, while supporters see a chance for reform and renewed trust between universities and policymakers. Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, director of the Democratic Knowledge Project and the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, weighs in.