John Palfrey's avatarJohn Palfrey

President, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Holding up more voices in this big week in the history of Artificial Intelligence

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A big weekend for Artificial Intelligence — in terms of a focus on how to govern it effectively, not just racing to develop it as quickly as possible at all costs.

When Authoritarians Attack Science, Democracy Is the Real Target

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Around the world, authoritarian movements are attacking science to weaken democracy: cutting research funding, smearing scientists, and spreading mis- and disinformation. This piece argues that defending free scientific inquiry is part of defending democratic institutions and calls on citizens, funders, and leaders to actively support science and truth.

Reimagining AI: Philanthropy’s Role in Global Collaboration

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Verity Harding of the University of Cambridge pulled together an anthology of essays about Artificial Intelligence and Geopolitics as of early 2026. I urge you to read everyone’s essays. I re-post my own short piece below. Our investments at MacArthur Foundation in this area fall under the program entitled Technology and the Public Interest. We … Read more

Radcliffe Day 2026: Honoring Dr. Ruth Simmons

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John Palfrey, May 29, 2026, Cambridge, MA, USA Thank you, Dean Brown-Nagin, and all Radcliffe Institute staff for putting on such a wonderful day for us all. Thank you for the invitation to moderate this panel on leadership. Thank you most of all for the chance to be among the many, many people who have … Read more

What I look for in a short essay

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Guidance on Writing Short EssaysFirst written in 2012 for high school students in my courses at Andover, lightly edited in 2026 to share for no particular reason other than a student somewhere might find it here. The length I expect for the short papers is roughly a page or two.  The sweet-spot is 750 words, … Read more

Two new books: Julian Barnes and Arundhati Roy

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This winter I’ve been enjoying two new books that speak to the topic of memory as one ages. Now into my 50s this topic has become more interesting than it once was. First came along Julian Barnes’ final (?) book, Departure(s). I think I have probably read most of Barnes’ novels along the way. This … Read more

International Debate on Internet Filtering

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From Turkey, talking to lots of people about the future of Internet filtering, I’m struck by the value of a broad, public debate about what kind of a network we want the Internet to become over time. There are decisions, made on a daily basis, by dozens of states around the world, that affect the … Read more

Notes from AI Action Summit in Delhi, India, February 2026

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It’s been a long time since I sat down to write a blog post like this. Why did I open my computer this morning and log in to WordPress? Somewhat to my surprise, a few people who saw I had been to Delhi, India, for the AI Impact Summit asked me if I would report … Read more