boston.dialoguescdm.org
Transatlantic Approaches to Digital Governance: the Boston Policy Lab
boston.dialoguescdm.org hosted the event site of a Club de Madrid policy lab organised with the Boston Global Forum on a new social contract for digital technologies and artificial intelligence. It was first announced for 28–29 April 2020 at Harvard and MIT and later listed by the MIT Media Lab for 16–18 September 2020.
Key facts
| Title | Transatlantic Approaches on Digital Governance: A New Social Contract in Artificial Intelligence |
|---|---|
| Organisers | World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid and Boston Global Forum |
| Preparatory phase | Online roundtable run by the AIWS Innovation Network, 20 February – 20 April 2020 |
| Original plan | 28 April 2020: roundtable of about 50 participants at Harvard University · 29 April 2020: public plenary at MIT |
| Later listing | 16–18 September 2020 (MIT Media Lab events page) |
| Support | Nguyen Van Tuong, founder and chairman of ATC Tram Huong Khanh Hoa |
| Event site | boston.dialoguescdm.org |
Goals of the policy lab
- Compare American and European approaches to AI and digital governance and find areas of transatlantic agreement.
- Develop a social contract that engages technology companies, civil society and citizens while protecting the democratic mandate of public policymakers.
- Consider UN reform in the context of the UN's 75th anniversary.
- Produce a final report with actionable recommendations and propose a Transatlantic Alliance for Digital Governance.
Speakers listed on boston.dialoguescdm.org
The speaker page profiled Club de Madrid members alongside experts from the Boston Global Forum, MIT, Harvard, the UN, the OECD and the European Commission. A selection:
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Danilo Türk | Former President of Slovenia; WLA-CdM President |
| María Elena Agüero | Secretary General, WLA-CdM |
| Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga | Former President of Latvia |
| Helen Clark | Former Prime Minister of New Zealand |
| Kim Campbell | Former Prime Minister of Canada |
| Alexander Stubb, Esko Aho | Former Prime Ministers of Finland |
| Jan Peter Balkenende | Former Prime Minister of the Netherlands |
| Michael Dukakis | Co-founder and Chairman, Boston Global Forum |
| Vint Cerf | Google; “father of the Internet” |
| Alex “Sandy” Pentland | MIT Connection Science and Human Dynamics lab |
| Paul Nemitz | Principal Advisor, European Commission DG Justice and Consumers |
| Andrew W. Wyckoff | Director, OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation |
| Charlie Baker | Governor of Massachusetts |
How it connects to the 2019 dialogue
The Boston lab was announced as the continuation of the 2019 Annual Policy Dialogue “Digital Transformation and the Future of Democracy” in Madrid. When Club de Madrid presented the 2019 recommendations in Helsinki in December 2019, it named a policy lab in Boston in April 2020 with the Boston Global Forum as the next step.
Frequently asked questions
What was boston.dialoguescdm.org?
The event site of a Club de Madrid and Boston Global Forum policy lab on transatlantic approaches to digital governance and AI.
When did the Boston Policy Lab take place?
It was first planned for 28–29 April 2020 at Harvard and MIT; the MIT Media Lab later listed it for 16–18 September 2020.
What was the policy lab about?
Building a new social contract for digital technologies and AI, comparing US and European approaches and proposing a Transatlantic Alliance for Digital Governance.
Who organised it?
World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid with the Boston Global Forum; the preparatory roundtable was run by the AIWS Innovation Network.
Sources
- boston.dialoguescdm.org: Speakers (archived event page)
- MIT Media Lab: Policy Lab – Transatlantic Approaches to Digital Governance
- Michael Dukakis Institute / Boston Global Forum: A New Social Contract in AI – press note (PDF)
- Michael Dukakis Institute: Transatlantic Approaches on Digital Governance – A New Social Contract in the Age of AI
- Club de Madrid: Club de Madrid presents outputs of Policy Dialogue 2019 in Finland