Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Everyone is talking about AI-accelerated misinformation, but few are thinking deeply about how AI will change democracy. In this talk, HKS Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy Bruce Schneier will go far beyond deepfakes to explore the full spectrum of how AI will impact democratic governance, from AI legislators to AI judges, from AI written laws to AI law enforcement. Some of the possibilities are further away than others, but glimmers of many of them are already emerging in the United States and around the world and all are grounded in current-day science and technology. Whatever our future brings, it's going to be a wild ride.

Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: No RSVP is required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first served basis. All are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom. Virtual attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link.

Recording: Please be advised that this seminar will not be recorded. The event organizers prohibit any attendees, including journalists, from audio/visual recording or distributing parts or all of the event program without prior written authorization.

Accessibility: To request accommodations or for questions about access, please contact Liz Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Law enforcement argues that "warrant-proof" encrypted devices and communications can hinder the investigation of serious criminal activities, but civil liberties and technology policy groups say that undermining consumer encryption threatens privacy, cybersecurity, and human rights. But what do the empirical data say?

Please join the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program and HKS Library and Research Services for an AI Cyber Lunch Seminar featuring Anne Boustead, Assistant Professor at the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona. In a talk entitled, "Measuring Encryption," Boustead will explore some of the legal and policy issues that could be informed by additional data on encounters with encrypted devices in the criminal justice system.

Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: In-person attendance is limited to current Harvard ID holders. No RSVP is required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first served basis. All are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom. Virtual attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link. 

Recording: Please be advised that this seminar will not be recorded. The event organizers prohibit any attendees, including journalists, from audio/visual recording or distributing parts or all of the event program without prior written authorization.

Accessibility: To request accommodations or for questions about access, please contact Liz Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Once a symbol of international cooperation and peace, the Arctic now stands at a crossroads between geopolitical tension and diverse opportunities and challenges that require collaboration. Following Russia's actions in Ukraine and subsequent shifts in Arctic governance, how will nations advance significant policy issues, such as climate science and emergency response, without a functioning governance system?

Join the Arctic Initiative and its partners for an engaging discussion with a panel of international experts to unpack the Arctic's intricate challenges and their global ramifications, from international politics to climate impacts. 

Q&A to follow. Boxed lunches will be available to-go following the seminar.

Registration: In-person attendance is limited to current Harvard ID holders. No RSVP is required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first served basis.

Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom. Virtual attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link. 

Recording: The seminar will be recorded and available to watch on this page.

Accessibility: To request accommodations or for questions about access, please contact Elizabeth Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Co-Sponsors: Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI), the Center for Ocean Governance at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), and the Wilson Center's Polar Institute.

Please join the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program for an AI Cyber Lunch Seminar featuring Marc Rotenberg, founder and president of the Center for AI and Digital Policy. Rotenberg will give a talk entitled "The Emergence of Legal Norms for the Governance of AI."

Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: In-person attendance is limited to current Harvard ID holders. No RSVP is required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first served basis.

Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom. Virtual attendees should register using the button below; upon registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link. 

Recording: Please be advised that this seminar will not be recorded.

Accessibility: Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Liz Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Speaker: David M. Allison, Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

As geopolitical and technological shifts challenge the underpinnings of nuclear deterrence, the implications of a nuclear taboo become increasingly important. Crucially, if the prohibition against nuclear use is binding, improved counterforce capabilities should have no effect on support for use. This seminar presents the results of a series of experiments designed to identify taboo believers and measure the durability of their commitment to nuclear non-use by increasing their perceptions of the military effectiveness of counterforce strikes. 

Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom! Please register in advance for this seminar: https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvc-uorTkoG9C3zILDI0wrhkBFNJWCkWIU

The Bering Strait region is a particularly unique area - one of the Arctic's most productive and sensitive environments but also a region increasingly facing pressure and challenges. Amidst an upheaval in relations between Russia and the other Arctic states exist transboundary risks associated with increased vessel activity, which continue to advance despite these deteriorated conditions.  

Please join the Harvard Kennedy School's Arctic Initiative, the Wilson Center's Polar Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund for a virtual workshop on transboundary risk management in the Bering Strait region.

Registration: This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP using the link below. For those who cannot attend live, the seminar will be recorded and available to watch on this page.

Accessibility: Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Liz Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Climate change is transforming the Arctic. How can we as researchers and policymakers help communities build resilience to these shocks and stressors? Join the Arctic Initiative for a workshop on how we understand and operationalize the concept of resilience, how to support community-driven research, and the mechanisms that support connections between community action and policy-making. Featured speakers include Joel Clement, Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow; Jennifer Spence, Arctic Initiative Associate; Brittany Janis, Arctic Initiative Research Manager and Justin Barnes, Associate Editor of the Arctic Yearbook. Networking reception for students to follow.

Attendance: In-person attendance is limited to Harvard ID holders. Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom.

Accessibility: Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Elizabeth Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Registration: Please RSVP at the link below. Registration will remain open until the event begins.

Speaker: Heather Williams, Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

Why would states give up nuclear weapons? What can historical cases of disarmament teach scholars and policymakers about a pathway to nuclear elimination? One model of disarmament is delegitimization, when humanitarian concerns, legal mechanisms, or changes in international norms cause the elimination of weapons. Another explanation is that disarmament occurs when there is an easing of tensions in geopolitics. But both of these models fail to consider advances in military technology and how these changes inform reliance on certain weaponry. This seminar offers a third model, disarmament by replacement, whereby the relative military utility of a weapon is a decisive factor in disarmament.

Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom! Please register in advance for this seminar:
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0scOmqqjsrGd1U6PSgtcfQE4VP3o-yDvUH

Speakers:  John Abowd, Associate Director for Research and Methodology and Chief Scientist, United States Census Bureau; Eduardo Rios Neto, President, Brazilian National Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)

Moderator: Marcia Castro, Andelot Professor of Demography; Chair, Department of Global Health and Population, HSPH; Chair, Brazil Studies Program

Everyone is welcome. Please register via Zoom:
https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0U0low0_SaSFZUwYGVqUow

Speaker: Stephen Herzog, Senior Researcher in Nuclear Arms Control, Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich; Associate, Project on Managing the Atom

Why do some treaties face difficult entry-into-force prospects after negotiators agree on their legal provisions? Multilateral nuclear arms control treaties, for example, often face far more contentious journeys to enter into force than their bilateral counterparts. These treaties usually indicate the number of states that must deposit ratification instruments, or may even require participation by specific states. To better understand such delays, Stephen Herzog presents a theory of treaty entry-into-force.

Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom! Please register in advance for this seminar: https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUkd-mhqjsvHdH15Dg8RHMId9xyGBgKSpQB