This event is part three of a special series of convenings conducted through the Democracy and Internet Governance Initiative, hosted by Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. The Initiative focuses on identifying solutions to the harms caused by digital platforms, such as social media. Improving Information Integrity at Scale focuses on addressing wide spread mis- and disinformation. 

The event is co-chaired by Belfer Center Director Ash Carter and Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs.

This event is part two of a special series of convenings conducted through the Democracy and Internet Governance Initiative, hosted by Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. The Initiative focuses on identifying solutions to the harms caused by digital platforms, such as social media. Addressing Networked Harassment and Diminished Press Freedom focuses on harassment of journalists and the decreased trust and freedom of robust news outlets. 

The event is co-chaired by Belfer Center Director Ash Carter and Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs.

This event is part one of a special series of convenings conducted through the Democracy and Internet Governance Initiative, hosted by Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. The Initiative focuses on identifying solutions to the harms caused by digital platforms, such as social media. Countering Extremism and Incitement to Violence Online focuses on addressing radicalization, extremism, and incitement to violence through online platforms. 

The event is co-chaired by Belfer Center Director Ash Carter and Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs.

The past year was unlike any other. The COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter movement, and Capitol riots were all extraordinary events--ones that forced us to confront long standing issues of race, equity, accessibility, democracy, and more. We also confronted the role of technology in both helping and harming public causes. 

These past 12 months serve as a case study for technology and public purpose, forcing us to examine the immense benefits and critical harms of technologies in our daily lives. As the kickoff to the Perspectives of Public Purpose Week, Belfer Center and TAPP Faculty Director and the 25th U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter will moderate a discussion with our inaugural cohort of TAPP fellows on how tech has both helped and hindered progress in 2020, and what lessons we’ve learned moving forward.

Kara Swisher, Editor-at-Large of Recode, discusses the intersection of technology and public purpose with former Secretary of Defense and current Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Ash Carter.

Technology has reached a critical juncture in American society. The unfettered optimism of recent decades is now tempered through rising concerns over privacy and security, the impact of disinformation campaigns, and increasing calls for digital accountability. It is clear that the 116th Congress will face pressure to shape technological innovation through policies that protect and serve the best interests of their constituents.

The Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center together with the Technology and Public Purpose (TAPP) Project at HKS’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is hosting a workshop on Capitol Hill for Congressional staffers focused on identifying and discussing policy approaches to the dilemmas of big tech platforms.

Join us for a discussion on “Responsible AI: A Guide to the Future” with Joi Ito, Director of the MIT Media Lab and a panel of distinguished speakers working on innovative and emerging AI-based technologies. This event is sponsored by the Harvard Belfer Center's Technology and Public Purpose (TAPP) Project. 
 

A Forum event with

Ash Carter
Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Belfer Professor of Technology and Global Affairs, HKS
Former United States Secretary of Defense (2015-2017)

Vanita Gupta
President and CEO, The Leadership Conference

Reid Hoffman
Partner, Greylock Partners
Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn

Latanya Sweeney
Professor of Government and Technology in Residence, Department of Government
Director, Data Privacy Lab, Harvard University
Former Chief Technologist, Federal Trade Commission

David Eaves (Moderator)
Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

This two hour exploration on the unintended impacts of technology on society will feature a keynote address by Ash Carter, former US Secretary of Defense and now the Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School. Secretary Carter will be followed by a panel discussion of business, government, and academic leaders on how we can work together to ensure the next generation of technologies serve overall human good. Confirmed panelists include David Eaves, Lecturer at HKS and Director of Digital HKS, and Chris Lynch, Founding Director of the Defense Digital Service at the U.S. Department of Defense, Steve Strassmann, Senior Architect at Kyruus and former Chief Technology Officer of Massachusetts, and Laura Manley, Director of the Technology and Public Purpose Project at Harvard's Belfer Center.

In the fifteenth talk of the series, Secretary Ash Carter, Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Belfer Professor of Technology and Global Affairs, will give a talk titled: Human Rights and International Security - Some Perspectives from the Pentagon.