Danielle Allen
James Bryant Conant University Professor
Renovating our democratic institutions for the 21st century.
The Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation aims to reinforce democracy through strengthening institutions, building interpersonal and informational trust, and reducing hyper-partisan affective polarization with research and field-building. Our multidisciplinary community of scholars, practitioners, and partner organizations work together to shepherd concepts and reforms into practice — to translate research into impact. From community-led initiatives to national-level policies and structural reforms, the Allen Lab works to renovate American democracy.
Our Vision: Justice is achieved by means of democracy: through robust political equality, fully inclusive institutions, and broad avenues for participation and connectedness, all of which rest on and support the material and social bases for human flourishing.
Our Mission: The Allen Lab develops the policy innovations needed to achieve healthy democracy in the 21st century. Our applied research converts the theory of power sharing liberalism into reality. Healthy democracy in the 21st century must deliver responsive representation and effective decision-making for large, complex, digitally-powered societies with significant heterogeneity operating in a globalized economy.
The lab currently supports four key research workstreams:
Our work is carried out through the identification and development of exemplary policies that permit further testing and refinement of the power-sharing liberalism paradigm. The Lab is committed to supporting the development of emerging scholars and thought leaders, and our organizational structure reflects this commitment. Lab activities to support the development of emblematic policy solutions include team-based research collaborations (staffed by undergraduate and graduate level research assistants), independent Fellow-driven research, an active professional learning community, regular lab meetings and workshops, publications and special stakeholder convenings.
James Bryant Conant University Professor
Senior Lab Director, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Associate Director for Technology & Democracy, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Lab Program Manager, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation;
Doctoral student, Harvard Gov Department
Doctoral Student, Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Researcher, Harvard College
Researcher, Harvard College
Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
July 2024-June 2025
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Principal Investigator;
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Columbia University
Researcher;
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Visiting Scholar
Senior Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Researcher, Harvard College
Non-resident Senior Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation;
Co-Director and Co-Investigator, GETTING-Plurality Research Network
Fulbright Doctoral Researcher, August 2024-May 2025
Faculty Associate, Berkman-Klein Center, Harvard Law School & Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School
Researcher, Harvard College
Researcher, Harvard College
Researcher;
Master in Urban Planning Candidate, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Communications, Harvard College
Online Event
Virtual Event
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST
Video
The year 2024 was dubbed “the largest election year in global history” with half the world’s population voting in national elections. Earlier this year, we hosted an event on AI and the 2024 Elections where scholars spoke about the potential influence of artificial intelligence on the election cycle– from misinformation to threats on election infrastructure. This webinar offered a reflection and exploration of the impacts of technology on the 2024 election landscape.
Earlier this year, the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation hosted a convening on the Political Economy of AI. This collection of essays from leading scholars and experts raise critical questions surrounding power, governance, and democracy as they consider how technology can better serve the public interest.
Additional Resource
As a part of the Allen Lab’s Political Economy of AI Essay Collection, David Gray Widder and Mar Hicks draw on the history of tech hype cycles to warn against the harmful effects of the current generative AI bubble.
Additional Resource
As a part of the Allen Lab’s Political Economy of AI Essay Collection, Emily S Lin and Marshall Ganz call on us to reckon with how humans create, exercise, and structure power, in hopes of meeting our current technological moment in a way that aligns with our values.
Additional Resource
As a part of the Allen Lab’s Political Economy of AI Essay Collection, Tessel van Oirsouw explores how the EU should pursue “mission-oriented industrial policy” to align its technological development with its cross-sector strategic objectives.
Additional Resource
As a part of the Allen Lab’s Political Economy of AI Essay Collection, Ajeet Singh explores how AI technologies deployed in the health care sector often orient towards the extraction of greater surplus revenues at the expense of patient health.
Additional Resource
As a part of the Allen Lab’s Political Economy of AI Essay Collection, Sarah Hubbard explores alternative ownership and governance structures for artificial intelligence that may better serve the public interest.
Commentary
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation Senior Fellow Allison Stanger, in collaboration with Jaron Lanier and Audrey Tang, advocate for a “repeal and renew” approach to Section 230 in an effort to reform the current social media ecosystem.
Video
The Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation hosted a webinar with several panelists to discuss a host of new campus initiatives that offer promising pathways for higher education to reassert its vital role in strengthening democracy by engaging students’ civic learning and supporting their development as civic actors.
Commentary
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation Fellow Ami Fields-Meyer lays out research questions for developing a new U.S. tech policy agenda that puts people first.
Occasional Paper
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation Fellow Alex Pascal and Vanderbilt Law Professor Ganesh Sitaraman make the case that public options for AI and public utility-style regulation of AI will enhance national security by ensuring innovation and competition, preventing abuses of power and conflicts of interest, and advancing public interest and national security goals.
Video
The “Building a Digital Democracy” panel brought together Audrey Tang, Megan Smith, Professor Danielle Allen, and Professor Mathias Risse for a conversation on how technology is being used to transform our political institutions.
Commentary
The GETTING-Plurality Research Network recently submitted a public comment on the NIST U.S. AI Safety Institute’s “Managing Misuse Risk for Dual-Use Foundation Models” draft guidance. The full text of the public comment can be found below.
Podcast
Check out the podcast episodes from the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation’s Conference on the Political Economy of AI to glean insights from each panel.
Occasional Paper
In this new Occasional Paper from the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, Hannah Kunzman and Danielle Allen offer a case study on contestation over K–12 civics curriculum in Texas.