The DTD Lab has awarded 2026-2027 grant funding to support five research projects across a variety of disciplines. These UVA faculty-led projects connect to the Lab’s mission of understanding the intersections of democracy and digital technology, including how rapidly evolving digital technologies and artificial intelligence can challenge but also fortify democratic institutions and practices. Additionally, the AI & Democracy Grants specifically explore the social, political, and cultural dynamics that emerge around the infrastructural integration of AI systems into institutions and people’s lives, as well as the role of governments, institutions, and organizations in the development and promotion of AI systems.
Reports and other grant activities and impacts will be forthcoming, as available. Learn more about the DTD Lab grant program.
Seed Grants
Automated Futures: AI, Prediction, and Democratic Decision-Making
Pedro Augusto Pereira Francisco and Yingchong Wang
This project investigates how AI is transforming democratic decision-making by influencing which futures are considered credible and worth governing.
Subterranean Convergence
LaRissa Rogers and Angel Adams Parham
Subterranean Convergence is a large-scale sculptural installation, performance, and digital archive commissioned by Clockshop and presented at Los Angeles State Historic Park.
AI & Democracy Grants
The AI Shock and American Democracy: Labor Displacement, Political Geography, and the Redistribution of Democratic Power
David Leblang
This project examines how AI-driven labor displacement threatens to reshape American political geography and democratic representation.
Open-Source AI as Democratic Infrastructure: Mapping Power, Participation, and Control
Alexander Gates, Tom Hartvigsen, Steven L. Johnson, and Hannah Cyberey
This project develops the first integrated empirical framework for measuring participation, influence, and value capture across the open-source AI ecosystem.
Artificial Intelligence Impact Atlas (AIIA)
Anil Kumar Vullikanti, Kemi Jona, and Madhav Marathe
This project develops a novel methodological approach to empower business leaders, policymakers, and their constituents with easy-to-use tools to understand the impact of AI on the workforce and to help them prepare for the future.
