Democracy and Technology

Democratic values are facing significant challenges globally, with democratic processes often feeling stagnant as social technologies become increasingly integrated into our social fabric. Reviving democratic values today requires not only re-legitimizing governance practices, but also establishing a foundational set of common principles embraced by citizens.
When designing democracy for the 21st century, should we uphold democracy as a low-tech environment or embrace and adapt to the technological landscape? How do we reimagine democratic institutions in the era of AI and social media? Can we achieve widespread online participation and deliberation?
The Institute for Rebooting Social Media welcomes Lawrence Lessig (Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School) and Claudia Chwalisz (Founder and CEO of DemocracyNext) for a discussion on the future of democracy and technology in our digital age, moderated by RSM Employee Fellow Manon Revel.
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The Institute for Rebooting Social Media (RSM) is a three-year, “pop-up” research initiative at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center to accelerate progress towards addressing social media’s most urgent problems, including misinformation, privacy breaches, harassment, and content governance. By convening participants across industry, government, civil society, and academia in focused, time-bound collaboration, the Institute has a portfolio of research, projects, programming, and educational opportunities aimed at improving the state of digital social spaces. Learn more about RSM here: rebootingsocialmedia.org/
Be sure to also check out the brand new Applied Social Media Lab (ASML),
which gives industry-trained technologists the freedom to build social media solutions that center the public interest. Learn more about ASML and our open jobs here: asml.cyber.harvard.edu/
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