We envision a future where technology is governed in support of people and communities, and where technological innovation does not come at their expense. Yet today, an unchecked tech industry exerts power over people’s lives and opportunities, wielding outsized influence not only over the fundamental direction of innovation but over state power, democratic practice, and social norms. Our work seeks to illuminate and challenge this power dynamic, and to reorient the relationship between people and technology. We do this by building a rigorous evidence base of technology’s impacts on society, and designing policy interventions to foreground that evidence for policymakers.

Foundational Research

Integrate sociotechnical research into structural fights for equity. 

Policy Blueprints

Ground policy in research and enable interdisciplinary coalitions. 

Counternarratives

Tell compelling stories that challenge technocentric hype and point to new ways to imagine our shared futures. 

Network Power

Engage a diverse, committed community to build collective power for tech justice and drive long-term change.

We actively explore how these four elements work together to shift power — away from the tech industry, tech oligarchs, and an increasingly uncertain political environment, and toward communities, movements, and institutions who see ungoverned technology as a threat to their rights, freedoms, and livelihoods. We work toward a future where technology is shaped by democratic values, human rights, and the public interest — a future that upholds human creativity, dignity and opportunity.

Democracy in the Age of AI

We seek to understand how information systems, automation, and AI contribute to the tensions between democratic theory and practice. Our research explores how AI is impacting the knowledge and institutions that are essential to functional democracy, including journalism, academia, scientific inquiry, and government itself.

Worker Power and Collective Rights

Our research examines how algorithmic technologies are impacting the quality of jobs, and workers’ rights and privacy. We map the conditions for redistributing power and support interdisciplinary coalitions working toward collective rights and democratic governance. 

Technology’s Impacts on People and Climate

Our research explores how communities negotiate the relationship between technology and climate, with a focus on the needs and perspectives of impacted groups. We aim to provide evidence to inform policies on AI infrastructure, and highlight the tensions between community-driven climate solutions and industry-led approaches.

Equity as an Organizing Principle

Equity shapes every aspect of our work, from internal policies and research methodologies to how we engage with research participants, communities, and partners. Our research and policy work foreground questions about power and justice, centering people who are at the margins.