PROJECT UPDATES
Technology and Public Purpose Project The Technology and Public Purpose Project works to ensure that emerging technologies are developed and managed in ways that serve the overall public good.
Faculty Director: Ash Carter Director: Laura Manley (until August 2021) Associate Director: Amritha Jayanti Project Manager: Karen Ejiofor Research Assistant: Ariel Higuchi Research Assistant: John Schultz Executive Assistant to Ash Carter: Henry Kaempf
In 2021, the TAPP Project kicked off a new Democracy and Internet Governance Initiative and continued its existing research to advance public purpose values in the research, design, development, and deployment of emerging technologies. Launching the Democracy and Internet Governance Initiative In August, TAPP launched a joint initiative with Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy to convene a range of stakeholders across government, business, and civil society to address the growing public concerns about digital platforms. Over the next several months, we will meet with leading experts and stakeholders to evaluate policy and self-governance options for high-priority issue areas: the right to speak, the right to truth, and the right to safety. Moving Into the Second Year of TAPP’s In-Resident Fellowship Program After successfully wrapping up our inaugural fellowship year in May, the project welcomed a second cohort of six leading practitioners from government, business, and civil society. This year’s fellows are developing solutions to some of the most pressing issues in the technology and public purpose arena, such as the digital divide, governance of smart city technology, technology policy impact assessment, and more. Informing Key Decision Makers Through TAPP’s Boston Tech Hub Faculty Working Group Sessions TAPP hosted eight Boston Tech Hub Faculty Working Group sessions with senior decision makers and leaders in the Greater Boston area. Session topics included Section 230 reform, responding to climate extremes, post-COVID futuristics, data dividends, social media recommendation algorithms, mRNA therapeutics, emerging offshore energy options, and organ-on-a-chip technology.
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Publishing New Tech Factsheets Series The Technology Factsheet Series offers a brief overview of the technical aspects of salient technologies and their public purpose relevance for policymakers and their staffs. This year, we published factsheets on the following topics: Battery Technology, Differential Privacy, and Vaccine Platforms. We also conducted research for our next publication set: Offshore Floating Wind Technology, Brain Computer Interfaces, Satellite Constellations, Data Dividends, and Anti-Aging Drugs (Senoylitcs). Welcoming New Non-Resident Fellows The TAPP Project also welcomed five new tech and public purpose leaders to our community: Afue Bruce, Ashlie Burkart, Karen Hao, Joaquin Quiñonero Candela, and Woodrow Rosenbaum. They joined our current non-resident fellows: Dana Chisnell, Lisa Gelobter, Gretchen Greene, Chris Lynch, DJ Patil, Nick Sinai, and Emily Tavoulareas. This outstanding cohort of service-minded technologists, journalists, and civil servants have contributed significantly to TAPP’s mission by sharing their expertise with our research and programs. Priorities for 2022 The TAPP Project looks forward to strengthening our work and impact across three primary programming buckets: training and mentorship, convenings, cutting edge research. In particular, TAPP aims to: (1) Expand our fellowship and student programs; (2) Coordinate with U.S. policymakers and technologists to implement technology and public purpose frameworks at high-leverage points; and (3) Conduct timely and policy-relevant research on priority topics, such as internet governance, Congressional science and technology expertise, and Boston’s role in the national strategy for supporting public-oriented science, technology, and innovation.
BELFER CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
