Technology and Public Purpose

Does data about the city belong to the city? Who should have the right to civic data generated by private digital technologies and services deployed in urban space? This emergent thorny issue of data sharing and power in the “smart city” is taking new form as local officials develop and enact regulations mandating access to the digital information urban platforms capture.

Join TAPP fellow Stephen Larrick and a group of experts as they explore the implications and discuss best practices for practitioners—and how to hold them accountable as they navigate sometimes competing interests of tech oversight, user privacy, and community needs.

The recommendation systems for platforms like Facebook and YouTube determine what kinds of behavior get attention—attention which can be converted to money and power.  The way such systems are currently designed rewards the people who seek to divide us—which impacts the kinds of politicians and content creators who are most likely to succeed.

This presentation and discussion, hosted by TAPP fellow Aviv Ovadya, will explore an alternative: bridging-based ranking—recommendation systems that bridge divides and platform democracy—a governance approach which may help overcome blockers to platform evolution.

In this session, Belfer Center Director, 25th U.S. Secretary of Defense, and TAPP Faculty Director Ash Carter will lead a discussion with our 2021-2022 TAPP Fellows to look at the role technology played this year in a few key priority areas: crisis management, consumer safety, inclusion and equity, national competitiveness, and the information ecosystem. The session will also dive into ways we can improve the development and management of technology to better elevate concepts of public purpose, touching on the specific projects of each fellow.  

Where does innovation come from? How can R&D discoveries can be translated into new ventures? This fireside chat hosted by TAPP fellow Livio Valenti will discuss the journey of a scientist and an entrepreneur in bringing new scientific breakthrough from the lab to those who need it the most. 

There is a far reaching demand to design technology for marginalized people. We need to take this idea out of abstraction and show that it can work for everyday communication technologies in the same way that it has worked in countless other contexts.  In many industries there are successful examples of design patterns that focus on the “extremes”, “outliers” and “edge cases” (which is what marginalized people are often seen as in design) as a fundamental core - this should be applied to communication technologies. With experts from technology and human rights fields,  including company representatives from Grindr and WhatsApp, TAPP fellow Afsaneh Rigot will discuss her new research documenting the impact of tech on LGBTQ people in the Middle East and North Africa and a new design methodology – Design From the Margins — that looks to provide established ways to center and mitigate harms faced by at-risk and marginalized people from the weaponization of tech.

The Perspectives on Public Purpose Week hosted by the Belfer Center’s Technology and Public Purpose Project (TAPP) is a showcase of the TAPP fellowship cohort’s research projects. TAPP Fellows are government, industry, and civil society practitioners that conduct field-based research on issues relating to technology and public purpose over the course of one academic year.

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.

The Technology and Public Purpose Project will host a study group on "Crises and Congress: Technology, Fakes, and the Future of Governance." Organized by TAPP fellow Leisel Bogan, this study group explores three recent crises in governance and how Congress has responded to each crisis. The sessions will address the Section 230 debates, proposed legislation designed to address fake information and internet harms, legislative and executive modernization issues and efforts in the midst of the pandemic, and how technology is (or isn’t) used to solve foreign policy challenges.

The study group will meet every Thursday from February 24th to March 10th at 5:30pm in Wexner 102.

The format will be hybrid. For limited in-person attendance, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/LnohcoABbDW2D2EP6. For virtual access, a link will be sent prior to each session. 

Once selected to join the study group, attendees will receive a course syllabus. 

The Technology and Public Purpose Project will host a study group on "Using Digital Equity to Advance Public Service, Workforce Development, and a Multi-Racial Democracy." Organized by TAPP fellow Francella Ochillo, this study group explores how digital inequities can sabotage or bolster government service delivery, workforce development goals, and aspirations for a multi-racial and multi-cultural democracy.

The study group will meet every Tuesday from February 22nd to March 8th at 4:00pm in the Belfer Library (L369).

The format will be hybrid. For limited in-person attendance, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/LnohcoABbDW2D2EP6. For virtual access a link will be sent prior to each session. 

Once selected to join the study group, attendees will receive a course syllabus. 

Join the Technology and Public Purpose Project for a virtual series on "Finding Solutions", a new series that convenes a multidisciplinary group of speakers to address the complex technology landscape and find potential solutions to mitigate technologies' harms. Our first session on "Choice, Control, and Content Policies" will feature Karen Hao, Senior AI Editor at MIT Tech Review and Joaquin Candela, Former Technical Lead for Responsible AI at Facebook. In a lively conversation they will discuss finding solutions to the risks and harms posed by social media recommendation systems.

Watch the event recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-ytFpstDbU