Technology and Public Purpose

Chief Data Officer for GivingTuesday, Woodrow Rosenbaum, will dive into how the organization seeks to leverage recent experiences and innovations in data engineering and machine learning to better our understanding of how aid is deployed during crisis (and what can be done to improve this process). The session will further explore how this knowledge can be operationalized and digitized into a useful format for other actors in the sector.

RSVP is required. Light refreshments will be served following the event from 3:00pm-3:30pm.

Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have become flashpoints for what ails democracy. But what if the technologies that power public discourse could serve society’s best interests instead of undermining them? Join William Powers, CEO of Public Mind, best-selling author, and former Washington Post columnist, in conversation with Bina Venkataraman, editor-at-large for The Boston Globe and fellow in the Technology and Public Purpose Program at Belfer, for an in-person discussion on inventing a new future for social media.

RSVP is required. Light refreshments will be served.

The Perspectives of Web3 virtual series led by the Technology and Public Purpose Project convenes a multidisciplinary group of speakers to address the emergence of opportunities and challenges in web3.

Registration is currently open for the third and final session in the series, Policymaking in Web3, happening on December 1st from 4:00-5:00PM ET. 

Join Belfer Center's Technology and Public Purpose Project for a timely study group: "Policy for the Endless Frontier: Origins and Ambitions of The CHIPS and Science Act." 

This six-session series, conducted by Doug Calidas, Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, will explore the origins of The CHIPS and Science Act, focusing on the competing policy priorities its authors sought to advance. It will also dive into long-term impact of the law and a discussion of possible actions that future congresses may consider taking to advance American leadership in high-tech manufacturing and scientific research.

The study group will meet every Thursday from 5:00 - 6:00pm ET from October 6 - November 10, 2022. The first session will be conducted in person, with following sessions conducted remotely. More details to be confirmed with registered participants.

Registration is required to attend the study group; see details below. You must be a Harvard affiliate to attend.

Join the Technology and Public Purpose Project and the Environment and Natural Resources Program as they host a virtual conference on "Innovation, Investment and Policy in Regenerative Agriculture." Dr. Ashlie Burkart, Chief Scientific Officer at Germin8 Ventures and Non-Resident Fellow, Technology and Public Purpose Project, will lead sessions with practitioners, private, civil and policy to discuss goals, policies and opportunities for more rapid adoption of soil health/carbon farming (“regenerative agriculture”) practices.

Sessions Include: 

• Why Adopt Regenerative Agriculture?
• Adoption of Soil Health and Carbon Farming
• Policy and Investment in Regenerative Agriculture

Attendance: This event is open to the public and hosted on Zoom. 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 Karen Ejiofor (karen_ejiofor@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

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

Technology is shaped by many hands along the way: those who are part of technology development process, those who fund projects and companies, and those who decide how to put technology to use; and that technology then shapes a range of outcomes for society. To ensure those outcomes truly benefit the public, we must—all of us—shift our relationship to technology —how we build it, fund it, and use it.

Join the Technology and Public Purpose Project and the Berkman Klein Center as they host Afua Bruce on her latest book release, The Tech That Comes Next.

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 webinar, hosted by TAPP fellow Leisel Bogan, will focus on Congress has responded to emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, mis and disinformation, technology-enabled fraudulent information, and the question of whether current approaches to policy, governance structures, and new policy proposals are adequate for preserving democratic institutions in the modern era.

Digital inequities reinforce income inequality, making the benefits of technology remote for millions of Americans. This session will showcase the lesser-known impact that the digital divide has on individuals and the aggregate cost nationwide when millions of Americans are locked out of a digital economy.

Join TAPP Fellow Francella Ochillo for a conversation about how current and future digital inequities shape the way in which Americans work, live, and experience one another. The presentation will also feature insights from Harvard Kennedy School's Professor Jason Furman, Tufts University's Fletcher School Dean Bhaskar Chakravorti, former Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, and other thought leaders in the broadband landscape.