Danielle Allen
Professor of Public Policy, James Bryant Conant University Professor
Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Renovating constitutional democracy for the 21st century
The Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation works to ensure that public policies, political institutions, and the technologies that support them are designed and judged by how well they strengthen constitutional democracy—expanding freedom and political equality, building fully inclusive institutions, and widening avenues for participation and connection, all rooted in the conditions people need to flourish.
Too often, democracy is treated as a stand-alone policy domain rather than a standard shaping all policymaking; the Lab works to change this by developing new democracy-supporting frameworks and standards, grounded in the field-defining scholarship of Danielle Allen. We advance this work through research, teaching, field-building, proof-of-concept pilots, professional training, network-building, and the promotion of exemplary policy solutions that equip decisionmakers to deliver responsive representation and effective governance for large, complex, digitally powered societies.
Areas of Focus
- Technology and Democracy: Learn more about our work here.
- New Frameworks for Political Economy
- Universal Civic Learning Policy
- Governance Mechanisms
Lab Staff
Sadie Cox
Executive Assistant to Danielle Allen
Darshan Goux
PhD, Senior Lab Director
Sarah Hubbard
Associate Director for Technology & Democracy
Ryan Pell
Coordinator, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Lab Members
Ben Barsky
Lab Affiliate; Assoc. Professor, UCSF Law School
Mathis Bitton
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Carly Chen
Researcher, Harvard College
Emily Clough
Research Fellow, AY2025-2026
Charlie Covit
Researcher, Harvard College
Emma Ebowe
Assistant Professor, College of William and Mary
Keren Elmore
Harvard College
Ami Fields-Meyer
Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
July 2024-June 2026
Tyler Fisher
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Cynthia Garcia
Researcher, Harvard College
Yen-Lin Huang
Non-resident Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Martina Jaramillo
Researcher, Harvard College
Thao Nguyen Kelly
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Femi Ositade
Researcher, Harvard College
Hannah Kunzman
Researcher;
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Hillary Lehr
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Gideon Lichfield
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Jeremy McKey
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Sonali Nijhawan
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Rishab Ramamurthy
Researcher, Harvard Law School
Priyanka Sethy
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Karan Shah
Researcher, Harvard College
Christine Slaughter
Research Fellow, AY2025-2026
Allison Stanger
Senior Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation;
Co-Director and Co-Investigator, GETTING-Plurality Research Network
Feb. 2024-Jan. 2026
Summer Sun
Researcher, Harvard College
Kenneth Woodland
Researcher, Harvard Kennedy School
Paulius Yamin
Non-resident Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Lab Alumni
Felix Chen
Harvard College
Naomi Corlette
Harvard College
Sofia Corona
Researcher, Harvard College
Caroline Curran
Researcher, Harvard College
Owen Ebose
Researcher, Harvard College
Eli Frankel
Researcher, Harvard College
Brian Highsmith
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Conner Huey
Researcher, Harvard College
David Knight
Principal Investigator;
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Columbia University
Woojin Lim
Researcher, Harvard College
Neil Miller
Researcher, Harvard Kennedy School
Cris Moore
Professor, Santa Fe Institute
Saddat Nazir
Researcher, Harvard College
Alex Pascal
Lab Affiliate; Executive Director, Berkman Klein Center
Charlotte Ritz-Jack
Researcher, Harvard College
Christian Schmidt
Researcher;
Master in Urban Planning Candidate, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Andrei Stupu
PhD; Fulbright Alumnus
Tessel van Oirsouw
EthicAI and Former Visiting Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Shlomit Wagman
Allen Lab Policy Fellow AY 2023-2025
Sam Wang
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Jama Willis
Communications, Harvard College
Upcoming Events
Black Women Civic Leaders in Massachusetts and Renovating Democracy
In-Person Event
Ash Center Seminar Room 225, Suite 200, 124 Mount Auburn Street
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm EDT
The Latest News and Research
Feature
Can Higher Ed Renew Our Democracy?
In new paper, Danielle Allen explores how higher ed can play a role in promoting the health of our democracy.
Feature
AI and the 2024 Elections
From misinformation to AI panic, experts joined the Allen Lab’s GETTING-Plurality event to discuss the threats the burgeoning technology poses to democracy.
Video
AI and the 2024 Elections
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
GETTING-Plurality Conference on the Political Economy of Artificial Intelligence
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.
Additional Resource
Terra Incognita: The Governance of Artificial Intelligence in Global Perspective
GETTING-Plurality Research Network members Allison Stanger and Woojin Lim, along with other authors, published “Terra Incognita: The Governance of Artificial Intelligence in Global Perspective” in the Annual Review of Political Science.
Commentary
Hearing on “Where Are We Now: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996”
Allen Lab Senior Fellow, Allison Stanger, provided testimony for The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing on “Where Are We Now: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996”.
Video
AI and the Future of Privacy
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 Future of Privacy”. In this session, we hear from Bruce Schneier, security technologist, and Faculty Affiliate at the Ash Center; Sarah Roth-Gaudette, Executive Director of Fight for the Future; and Tobin South, MIT Ph.D. Candidate and Fulbright Scholar. Each presenter gives a lightning talk, followed by audience Q&A.
Policy Brief
AGI and Democracy
We face a fundamental question: is the very pursuit of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) the kind of aim democracies should allow?
Additional Resource
Democracy as Approximation: A Primer for “AI for Democracy” Innovators
This essay was adopted from a presentation given by Aviv Ovadya at the Second Interdisciplinary Workshop on Reimagining Democracy held on the campus of Harvard Kennedy School in December 2023.
Commentary
The One Internet Hack That Could Save Everything
Allen Lab Senior Fellow, Allison Stanger, and Jaron Lanier outline a world without Section 230.
Additional Resource
The Real Dangers of Generative AI
“The Real Dangers of Generative AI” by Danielle Allen and Glen Weyl was featured in the January 2024 Journal of Democracy.
Abstract: As perhaps the most consequential technology of our time, Generative Foundation Models (GFMs) present unprecedented challenges for democratic institutions. By allowing deception and de-contextualized information sharing at a previously unimaginable scale and pace, GFMs could undermine the foundations of democracy. At the same time, the investment scale required to develop the models and the race dynamics around that development threaten to enable concentrations of democratically unaccountable power (both public and private). This essay examines the twin threats of collapse and singularity occasioned by the rise of GFMs.
Occasional Paper
A Roadmap for Governing AI: Technology Governance and Power Sharing Liberalism
Video
Advancements in Global AI Policy
The “Advancements in Global AI Policy” webinar featured the following speakers and topics:
- Andrew Strait, Ada Lovelace Institute – Recent Developments in UK AI Policy
- Alex Pascal, Harvard Kennedy School – Biden’s AI Policy: Past, Present, and Future
- Chinasa T. Okolo, Brookings Institution – Globalizing Perspectives on AI Governance: Africa’s Role in International AI Cooperation
- Maia Levy Daniel, University of San Andrés & Wikimedia Argentina – AI Regulation in Latin America Requires a Thoughtful Process
- Armando Guio Español, Harvard Berkman-Klein Center – Generative AI: What Should Governments in Latin America Do?
Video
Regulating Web3: Global Trends and Challenges
“Regulating Web3: Global Trends and Challenges” webinar session featured the following speakers and topics:
- Peter Kerstens (European Commission) on EU Markets in Crypto Asset Regulation
- Carol Van Cleef (Luminous Group) on US Approach to Digital Asset Regulation
- Urszula McCormack (King & Wood Mallesons) on APAC Approach to Digital Asset Regulation
- Thomas Hardjono (MIT Media Lab) on Technical Standards for Web3
Additional Resource
Summit on AI and Democracy
On November 7, 2023, the Summit on AI and Democracy gathered experts across multiple institutions to discuss ongoing research, policy, and development efforts related to the recent advancements in artificial intelligence.