Danielle Allen
Professor of Public Policy, James Bryant Conant University Professor
Allen Lab: Technology & Democracy
The Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation’s Technology and Democracy workstream aims to ensure that emerging technologies are developed and governed in support of the public benefit.
The Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation’s Technology and Democracy workstream is focused on developing democracy-supportive technology policies, harnessing the opportunities for emerging technologies to improve governance, fostering professional norms that lead to technology development supportive of human pluralism, and building a robust pipeline of experts who can bridge ethical and technical considerations within policy and industry spaces. We pursue this work through foundational analysis and theory, field-building, and policy development.
Research Areas
Some of our research areas include:
Public AI
Section 230 Reform
GETTING-Plurality Research Network
At the center of our work is our multidisciplinary research network. The Governance of Emerging Technology and Tech Innovations for Next-Gen Governance (GETTING-Plurality) is a research network linking philosophers, social scientists, computer scientists, legal scholars, and technologists. This unique collaborative unites tech ethics initiatives at Harvard University with external impact partners across higher education and the tech industry, bringing philosophers and ethicists to the table for every project.
Our network seeks to advance understanding of how to shape, guide, govern, and deploy technological development in support of democracy, collective intelligence, and other public goods. Our focus is on how to do so, given the plural nature of human intelligence. We connect theory with practice to ensure that academic insights inform real-world policy and industry standards.
Leadership
Darshan Goux
PhD, Senior Lab Director
Sarah Hubbard
Associate Director for Technology & Democracy
Allison Stanger
Senior Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation;
Co-Director and Co-Investigator, GETTING-Plurality Research Network
Feb. 2024-Jan. 2026
Network Members
Antón Barba-Kay
Distinguished Fellow, Center on Privacy and Technology, Georgetown Law
Emily Clough
Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Northeastern University
Tina Eliassi-Rad
Professor, Northeastern University
Ami Fields-Meyer
Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
July 2024-June 2026
Jonas Kgomo
Founder, Equiano Institute
Yu-Ting Kuo
Faculty Member, MIT and National Tsing Hua University
Seth Lazar
Professor of Philosophy, Australian National University
Anna Lewis
Research Scientist, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Cris Moore
Professor, Santa Fe Institute
Puja Ohlhaver
Researcher & Lawyer
Omoaholo Omoakhalen
Founder, Remake Africa & Plurality Lead, School of Politics, Policy and Governance
Aviv Ovadya
Affiliate, Berkman Klein Center & Affiliate, Centre for the Governance of AI
Nick Pyati
Strategy, Microsoft
Manon Revel
Postdoctoral Researcher, Meta FAIR & Affiliate, Berkman Klein Center
Mathias Risse
Faculty Director, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy & Professor, Harvard Kennedy School
Bruce Schneier
Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy
Ajeet Singh
Physician Instructor and Clinical Informaticist, Rush University Medical Center
Tessel van Oirsouw
EthicAI and Former Visiting Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation
Shlomit Wagman
Senior Fellow, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation & Fellow, M-RCBG
Glen Weyl
Research Lead, Microsoft Research, Plural Technology Collaboratory & Founder, RadicalxChange Foundation
Zachary Wojtowicz
Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology and Economic Theory, Harvard University
Kinney Zalesne
Former Co-Head of Corporate Strategy, Microsoft
Graduate Student Network Members
Nate Hiatt
PhD Candidate in Political Science, Yale University
Charlotte Siegmann
PhD Candidate in Economics, MIT
Luke Thorburn
PhD Candidate, King's College London
Alumni
Zoë Hitzig
Junior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows
Saffron Huang
Co-Founder, Collective Intelligence Project
Uma Ilavarasan
PhD Candidate in Government, Harvard University
Shrey Jain
Researcher, Microsoft Research
Woojin Lim
Researcher, Harvard College
Divya Siddarth
Co-Founder, Collective Intelligence Project
Upcoming Events
In-Person Book Talk – Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship
In-Person Event
Ash Center Seminar Room 225, Suite 200, 124 Mount Auburn Street
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT
The latest news, resources, and research
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.
Video
GETTING-Plurality — “A Roadmap for Governing AI: Technology Governance and Power-Sharing Liberalism”
This GETTING-Plurality Research workshop session features Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, Director of the Allen Lab, and presenting author of “A Roadmap for Governing AI: Technology Governance and Power-Sharing Liberalism.” Allen was joined in conversation by commentator Rob Reich, McGregor-Girand Professor of Social Ethics of Science and Technology, Stanford
Commentary
The One Internet Hack That Could Save Everything
Allen Lab Senior Fellow, Allison Stanger, and Jaron Lanier outline a world without Section 230.
Article
Can Democracy Survive Artificial General Intelligence?
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.