We are particularly interested in research that addresses key topics at the intersection of digital technology and democracy and bring together a cohort of researchers addressing these issues at global, regional, and local levels. The Lab creates collaboration and exchange between academia and thought-leaders, technologists, policymakers, activists, civil society organizations, artists, and creative practitioners, taking a broadly transdisciplinary and global approach.
Research
Our Approach
The DTD Lab works to explore how rapidly evolving digital technologies can challenge, but might also fortify, democratic institutions and practices.
Areas of Focus
Data in the Dark
Automation’s Ecologies
Visual Misinformation
AI & the Environment
Student Technology Council
Technology & Disinformation
Social Contagions
Gender & Tech
Co-Opting AI
Urban Digital Twins
Technology & Democracy Exchange
Data Center Policies
Descendant-Led Digital Humanities Lab & Network
Cryptocurrency & Democracy
Featured Resources
Reimagining AI for Environmental Justice and Creativity
This collection of essays emerged from a Fall 2024 workshop and is designed to become a resource for a broad audience with various backgrounds, skills, and interests. The ideas featured help reflect upon the challenges ahead when building, using and evaluating AI in different contexts. Learn more and download a free copy.
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Insights from the Visual Generative AI and Propaganda Convening
This report provides a summary of Visual Generative AI and Propaganda Convening held in September 2024. The event brought together experts to examine the challenges posed by increasingly sophisticated AI-generated visual content on public trust and democratic processes. Learn more and download a free copy.
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Video Library
FLiNG Report Launch: How Finfluencers, Fin-Tech, and FOMO Shape Young Adults’ Financial Well-being
Cryptocurrency & Democracy
Faculty & Postdoc Publications
Fundamental Rights in Brazil from a Women’s Perspective – Contemporary Reflections
Yasmin Curzi, DTD Lab postdoc, contributed a chapter to a new book analyzing fundamental rights from a female perspective focusing on gender equality, democracy, and contemporary legal challenges in Brazil.
A Better Burst
Mona Sloane, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, argues in a new co-authored pre-print, that today’s AI landscape looks a lot like past infrastructure booms—and that this moment is an opportunity to realign it with the public interest.
When Influencers Delegate Replies: How Social AI Agents Shape User Engagement
Steven Johnson, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, co-authored a new paper that he hopes will contribute to the emerging scholarship on the understanding of platform-enabled delegation of social relationship management to AI agents — which we refer to as Social AI Agents.
Join our vibrant lab and help us explore the intersection of democracy and digital technology.
Current Opportunities