Digital Democracy

Disinformation. Conspiracy theories. Extremism. Surveillance. Our democracy is threatened as never before by toxic online content. The social media giants seem unable, or in some cases unwilling, to control the flood of lies and manipulative practices. The staggering — often hidden — reach of Big Tech into our lives endangers civil society, our civil rights, and our privacy. In a "post-truth" world we risk losing the shared understanding that underpins our democracy.

Each month, we explore a different facet of this crisis with guest experts. Join us to learn, discuss, and work on possible solutions.

Upcoming Webinars:

More events coming soon!

Past Webinars:

Democracy Will Not Be Intimidated

With Gowri Ramachandran from the Brennan Center of Justice

Fighting Back on Election Interference

With Liz Tentarelli, President, LWVNH; Courtney Hostetler, Legal Director for Free Speech for People; and Celina Stewart, Senior Director of Advocacy and Litigation at LWVUS.

Tackling Misinformation by Preempting It

With Beth Goldberg, Senior Fellow and Lecturer at Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs

Defending Democracy in the Digital Age

With Kat Duffy, a senior fellow for digital and cyberspace policy at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

What's Next in AI Regulation?

With Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, a senior fellow in Governance Studies, the director of the Center for Technology Innovation and serves as Co-Editor-In-Chief of the TechTank blog and podcast at the Brookings Institution

With former FCC Chair, Tom Wheeler, who'll be talking about his new book, Techlash: Who Makes the Rules in the Digital Gilded Age.

AI Endangers Elections

With Saurav Ghosh, who serves as the Director of Federal Campaign Finance Reform for CLC, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that strives to advance democracy through law.

AI and Algorithms

Our guest is Mona Sloane, Assistant Professor of Data Science and Media Studies at the University of Virginia (UVA). At UVA, Mona runs Sloane Lab which conducts empirical research on the implications of technology for the organization of social life.

TikTok: Privacy, National Security, and the First Amendment

With Julia Angwin, an award-winning investigative journalist and New York Times contributing Opinion writer.

Facing the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence

With Danielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University Professor and Director of the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard.

Keeping Kids Safe Online

With Nichole Rocha is the Head of US Affairs at 5Rights

What are Algorithms? Are They Undermining Free Will?

With Cathy O’Neil, a leading expert on algorithms and the CEO of ORCAA, an algorithmic auditing company. She is the author of Weapons of Math Destruction: How big data increases inequality and threatens democracy.