Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Renovating constitutional democracy for the 21st century
The Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation is an impact lab at Harvard Kennedy School working to renovate constitutional democracy for today’s large, complex, digitally powered society so that it delivers on its purpose: human flourishing.
Our work starts from two premises. First, democracy should not be treated as a stand-alone policy domain, but as a standard shaping how public policy is designed and evaluated. Second, democratic institutions and civic culture are mutually reinforcing. When institutions are unresponsive, people disengage; as participation and civic connection weaken, institutions become less responsive still. Realizing the promise of self-government requires reversing this cycle by strengthening both together.
Grounded in Danielle Allen’s field-defining scholarship on democracy, power-sharing liberalism, civic education, and technology, we combine research and real-world application to develop, test, and spread new frameworks and standards for democracy renovation.
Announcement
Our Record
Advancing democracy-supportive public policy
Develop and analyze new policy approaches; help establish democracy as a central consideration in emerging debates over AI and political economy through first-of-their-kind frameworks, research, and convenings; and equip future leaders to put democratic outcomes at the center of policymaking. Convened hundreds of leading economists, political scientists, journalists, writers and thinkers from across the political spectrum to explore and debate emerging visions for the future of the political economy.
Cultivating new ideas and leaders in democracy renovation
Provide students and emerging leaders with the tools to strengthen democracy; supporting Fellows producing influential books, original research, and civic initiatives, including former White House Senior Policy Advisor Ami Fields-Meyer’s On Courage, Professor Allison Stanger’s congressional testimony on democracy and Big Tech, and former AmeriCorps Director Sonali Nijhawan’s work connecting service alumni to sustain civic participation and leadership beyond service.
Building the foundation for stronger digital civic infrastructure
Produced the first Massachusetts statewide landscape analysis, building the OpenBook municipal budget transparency tool, and developing policy recommendations for digital civic infrastructure, including Open Meeting Law in the age of AI.
Strengthening civic culture
Advancing a national vision for universal civic learning across the lifespan, building a network connecting K–12, higher education, and adult civic learning, and advancing the policies needed to support lifelong civic learning.
Lab Staff
Danielle Allen
Professor of Public Policy, James Bryant Conant University Professor
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
Paula Berman
Non-resident Policy Fellow, AY2026-2027
Mathis Bitton
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Niketa Brar
Policy Fellow, AY2026-2027
Claudia Chwalisz
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, DemNext
Emily Clough
Research Fellow, AY2025-2026
Charlie Covit
Researcher, Harvard College
Joshua Darr
Policy Fellow, AY2026-2027
Daniella DiPaola
Research Fellow, AY2026-2027
Emma Ebowe
Assistant Professor, College of William and Mary
Adam Eichen
Research Fellow, AY2026-2027
Keren Elmore
Harvard College
Rani Eng
Policy Fellow, AY2026-2027
Leon Erichsen
Policy Fellow, AY2026-2027
Tyler Fisher
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Cynthia Garcia
Researcher, Harvard College
Marci Harris
Policy Fellow, AY2026-2027
Adam Hinds
Policy Fellow, AY2026-2027
David Kidd
Chief Assessment Scientist, Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics
Hannah Kunzman
Researcher;
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Hillary Lehr
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Gideon Lichfield
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Anne Meeker
Policy Fellow, AY2026-2027
Sonali Nijhawan
Chief Program Officer, EdRedesign Lab
Beth Simone Noveck
Policy Fellow, AY2026-2027
Christine Slaughter
Research Fellow, AY2025-2026
Summer Sun
Researcher, Harvard College
Joshua Tan
Policy Fellow, AY2026-2027
Matthew Victor
Berkman Klein Center Fellow
Kenneth Woodland
Researcher, Harvard Kennedy School
Paulius Yamin
Non-resident Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Lab Alumni
Carly Chen
Researcher, Harvard College
Felix Chen
Researcher, Princeton University
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
Yen-Lin Huang
Non-resident Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Conner Huey
Researcher, Harvard College
Martina Jaramillo
Researcher, Harvard College
David Knight
Principal Investigator;
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Columbia University
Woojin Lim
Researcher, Harvard College
Jeremy McKey
Policy Fellow, AY2025-2026
Neil Miller
Researcher, Harvard Kennedy School
Cris Moore
Professor, Santa Fe Institute
Saddat Nazir
Researcher, Harvard College
Femi Ositade
Researcher, Harvard College
Alex Pascal
Lab Affiliate; Executive Director, Berkman Klein Center
Rishab Ramamurthy
Researcher, Harvard Law School
Charlotte Ritz-Jack
Researcher, Harvard College
Christian Schmidt
Researcher;
Master in Urban Planning Candidate, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Priyanka Sethy
Doctoral Student, Harvard Government Department
Karan Shah
Researcher, Harvard College
Allison Stanger
Senior Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation;
Co-Director and Co-Investigator, GETTING-Plurality Research Network
Feb. 2024-Jan. 2026
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
The Latest News and Research
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.
Additional Resource
Reimagining Democracy for AI
“Reimagining Democracy for AI” by Aviv Ovadya was featured in the October 2023 Journal of Democracy.
Abstract: AI advances are shattering assumptions that both our democracies and our international order rely on. Reinventing our “democratic infrastructure” is thus critically necessary—and the author argues that it is also possible. Four interconnected and accelerating democratic paradigm shifts illustrate the potential: representative deliberations, AI augmentation, democracy-as-a-service, and platform democracy. Such innovations provide a viable path toward not just reimagining traditional democracies but enabling the transnational and even global democratic processes critical for addressing the broader challenges posed by destabilizing AI advances—including those relating to AI alignment and global agreements. We can and must rapidly invest in such democratic innovation if we are to ensure that our democratic capacity increases with our power.
Video
The Dark Side of AI: Crime and Adversarial Use Cases
“The Dark Side of AI: Crime and Adversarial Use Cases” webinar session featured the following speakers and topics:
- Bruce Schneier (Harvard): Hackers and Security Vulnerabilities
- Matt Groh (Northwestern): Deepfakes and Misinformation, see related paper The Art and Science of Generative AI
- Shlomit Wagman (Harvard): Financial Crime
- Jennifer Calvery (HSBC): Financial Crime
Video
Introduction to AI and Public Policy
The “Introduction to AI and Public Policy” webinar session featured the following speakers and topics:
- Danielle Allen (Harvard): AI and Democracy
- Sandy Pentland (MIT): A Practical Framework for Data and AI systems for Regulators
- Shayne Longpre (MIT): A Primer in Large Language Models
- Gabriele Mazzini (European Commission): Overview of the EU AI Act
Article
Bridging Systems: Open Problems for Countering Destructive Divisiveness across Ranking, Recommenders, and Governance
This working paper aims to articulate an interdisciplinary research and practice area focused around bridging systems.
Policy Brief
GETTING-Plurality Comments to White House OSTP on National Priorities for Artificial Intelligence
The GETTING-Plurality Research Network submitted a series of memos which respond to various questions posed around the topics of bolstering democracy and civic participation; protecting rights, safety, and national security; and promoting economic growth and good jobs.
Video
Optimizing for What? Algorithmic Amplification and Society
GETTING-Plurality Workstream Lead Aviv Ovadya recently discussed his work on bridging systems as part of “Optimizing for What? Algorithmic Amplification and Society.” This two-day symposium at Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute explored algorithmic amplification and distortion as well as potential interventions.
Commentary
How AI could write our laws
ChatGPT and other AIs could supercharge the influence of lobbyists—but only if we let them.
Commentary
We Don’t Need to Reinvent our Democracy to Save it from AI
When is it time to start worrying about artificial intelligence interfering in our democracy? Maybe when an AI writes a letter to The New York Times opposing the regulation of its own technology.
Digital Humanism: The Time Is Now
Digital humanism highlights the complex relationships between people, society, nature, and machines. It has been embraced by a growing community of individuals and groups who are setting directions that may change current paradigms. Here we focus on the initiatives generated by the Vienna Manifesto.