Technology and the Public Interest
Books, essays, and commentary from John Palfrey
Essays
Notes from AI Action Summit in Delhi, India, February 2026
Reflections on AI, governance, and the public interest from the AI Action Summit in Delhi.
Read essayConcord Free Public Library 150th Anniversary Celebration
Remarks on libraries, civic institutions, and the enduring importance of public knowledge.
Read essayInvesting in the Arts—in Chicago and Beyond
Thoughts on philanthropy, culture, and why investing in the arts matters for public life.
Read essayCommentary from John Palfrey
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Lance Knobel on Tom Steinberg
Lance Knobel wrote today about meeting with MySociety’s Tom Steinberg, who is coming to talk at the Berkman Center on Tuesday about PledgeBank, “one of those ideas that is so brilliantly simple you wonder why it hasn’t been done before.”
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Podcasting for Learning
The Otter Group has released a 12-pager on how podcasting can be used for learning. Anything that makes learning fun, easier, and more productive, in the corporation or the academy, is worth exploring. The Otter Group has a few good examples, such as using podcasting in teaching conflict resolution and medical practice. The most useful part…
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Dr. Hossein Eslambolchi, ATT CTO
How do you solve today’s security problems on the Internet, like viruses? Dr. Hossein Eslambolchi, the CTO and CIO of AT&T, is telling us here at the Berkman Center that we need to think again about end-to-end: 1) You have to build intelligence into the network, especially sensors, to solve problems like viruses. 2 +…
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LAT on Internet censorship in the Middle East
The LA Times’ Megan Stack has written an excellent, anecdote-rich piece on the effect of technology- and social-norm-based censorship in the Middle East, with emphasis on Syria, Bahrain, and Egypt. At ONI, we’ve done an in-depth report on Bahrain. Ms. Stack’s piece is heavy on the youth and politics angle on the story, both of…
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"Best Food Coverage on the Internet"
The Association of Food Journalists just announced that MSNBC’s Jon Bonne won not just first place (for his piece on Rhubarb) but also second place (for his Beaujolais nouveau instant classic) in the Best Food Coverage on the Internet category for 2005. Next year, he ought to go for the trifecta.
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An Internet-savvy Public Advocate for NYC?
“Forget the mayor’s race tomorrow,” they’re saying. Britt Blaser, Micah Sifry, and other good people have been working on an interesting campaign to get people to turn out in NYC for a downballot race. Their man is Andrew Rasiej; he calls himself the “Johnny Appleseed” of technology and politics, he and his team have been…
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Sins of Omission in a Globe op-ed
I probably should have known better, but in devoting 750 words to an op-ed in the Boston Globe about the special election in Somerville, Medford, Winchester, and Woburn, I managed tomake a few sins of omission. The primary things that were left on the cutting room floor, but should not have been, are twofold: *…
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Voting for Pat Jehlen for State Senate today
This morning, I cast the 108th ballot in a special election for State Senator at the Dilboy VFW Post in Davis Square, Somerville. Despite a sprinkling rain and the low turnout, the streets outside my polling place were crawling with people holding signs — a wonderful sign of a vibrant local democracy. I got a…
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Observations on iTunes
Urs Gasser has been back the past few days in the US, his first trip back since he left for his professorship at the Univ. of St. Gallen. (Prof. Dr. Gasser remains a faculty fellow with us at the Berkman Center.) Along with summer intern Gabriela Ruiz Begue, he has released a short, accessible paper…
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State of Play III conference
At the Berkman Center, we’re gearing up for a busy fall. Students return shortly, some as early as this week-end, and new fellows are honing research plans for the year. We hope to roll out new ways to expand our reach and to invite more people into our various initiatives through the use of technology…
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Why Kaye Trammell is blogging so much less
I subscribe to a feed of Kaye Trammell’s great blog. I met her at the Oxford Internet Institute a few summers ago, we invited her to a conference at Harvard Law School, and I’ve enjoyed following her work since then via her blog. I’ve noticed over the past few months much less updating from Kaye…
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Next step in the Perfect 10 suit against Google
Recently, adult publisher Perfect 10 sued Google for copyright infringement. (I posted a lightly redacted version of the complaint along with an early analysis of the lawsuit, here). Now, word is that Perfect 10 has asked the judge for a preliminary injunction against Google. Perfect 10 has also sued Amazon.com. These lawsuits, along with similar…