OPINION COMMENTARY:

The House Select Committee’s hearings to investigate the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol uncovered an extensive plot to overturn the 2020 election, coordinated election interference at both federal and state levels, and potential dereliction of duty by some senior officials, all before a global audience. Vivian Lowery Derryck, a member of the inaugural 2009 Advanced Leadership Initiative cohort, worries that the never-ending saga of Donald Trump, his legal issues and potential 2024 presidential bid, will overshadow the successes of this investigative milestone in American history.

THE IMPACT OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE SERIES:

OPINION COMMENTARY:

Russia’s “information war” in Ukraine is the latest example of how networked disinformation can deepen divides, harm people, destroy trust in institutions, and threaten democracy. Lisa Macpherson, a 2019 ALI Fellow, argues that America should take a more active role in supporting the free press it guaranteed its citizens in the First Amendment.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

Urban heat islands, compounded by the effects of climate change and environmental neglect, have a disproportionate impact on disadvantaged communities. David Cifrino, a 2022 Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Senior Fellow, uses Dorchester’s Columbia Road greenway as a model of our opportunity to bring about environmental justice.

Aligning the economic interests of shareholders and senior management with equity incentives is a foundational principle of American capitalism. Can the same principle also be harnessed to address wealth inequality in America by extending “ownership culture” to a broader cross-section of America’s workforce?

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN SOCIAL IMPACT SERIES:

OPINION COMMENTARY:

We are just beginning to understand the transformational potential of digital technology to help solve some of “the world’s most pressing problems.” Chris Lewis of the digital rights organization Public Knowledge calls on social impact leaders to join with academic, civil society, and advocacy groups to grow a movement to build a better internet for all.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN SOCIAL IMPACT SERIES:

The education technology market is booming around the globe, with software tools aimed at organizing and delivering academic content dominating the market beyond hardware. Julia Freeland Fisher, Director of Education Research at the Clayton Christensen Institute, calls for the edtech market to refocus its purpose on providing connection, not just content.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN SOCIAL IMPACT SERIES:

Employed with care, artificial intelligence can benefit us. Professor Frederic Lederer proposes a framework to determine AI's usefulness in two areas: predicting future criminal misconduct and developing safer weapons systems for the military.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN SOCIAL IMPACT SERIES:

Dr. Alex Hanna from the Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute explains some of the causes of gender and racial bias in AI and discusses using a community- and value-based approach for AI development to improve equity outcomes.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN SOCIAL IMPACT SERIES:

Digital innovation and open-source technology have evolved and matured over the last two decades and are now being applied to various uses beyond their traditional applications to business and industry. In this article, Heifer International’s Product Manager, Antoinette Marie, explores various use cases for technology to address the sustainable development goal of Zero Hunger using a collaborative and multi-stakeholder approach with smallholder farmers.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN SOCIAL IMPACT SERIES:

Many of the greatest leaps in technological advancement have emerged from a desire to improve the quality of life for underserved members of society. The article questions and addresses how sustained efforts to develop inclusive and accessible tech might lead to further progress for humanity as a whole.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN SOCIAL IMPACT SERIES:

Cat Wade, a researcher who has been affiliated with the Harvard University Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics and Embedded EthiCS, discusses some reasons for and effects of racism in technology as well as select interventions to address these negative effects.

HUMAN RIGHTS CRISES AND MOVEMENTS AROUND THE WORLD SERIES:

Mathias Risse, Director of the Harvard Kennedy School Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, provides an introduction to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the human rights movement that emerged from it, discusses some major insights about economic inequality under capitalism, argues that increasing inequality is a challenge to the human rights movement, explores the ways in which the digital revolution that unfolds all around us could be a threat to human rights, either directly or through the ways in which it enhances inequality, and warns of the human rights stakes in the 2024 presidential election.

HUMAN RIGHTS CRISES AND MOVEMENTS AROUND THE WORLD SERIES:

OPINION COMMENTARY:

Ambassador Jeff Bleich and Dr. Bradley Strawser, with great insight and experience in law, public policy, technology and ethics, use autonomous vehicles as a case study of the tension between technological innovation and human rights. They conclude that only by drawing upon the lessons from past technology revolutions can we ensure our technological aspirations align with our human ones.

HUMAN RIGHTS CRISES AND MOVEMENTS AROUND THE WORLD SERIES:

Juliette Kayyem, Professor in International Security at Harvard Kennedy School, where she is also faculty chair of the Homeland Security and Security and Global Health Projects, discusses her book, The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in the Age of Disasters. In this interview, Professor Kayyem discusses the importance of corporate structure in preparing for crises, the preparedness paradox, how human nature makes preparing for crises challenging, and finally how leadership skills are critical in all crises, particularly the current crisis in Ukraine.

HUMAN RIGHTS CRISES AND MOVEMENTS AROUND THE WORLD SERIES:

Matthew Smith, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights, discusses how their team of human rights defenders investigates, engages people with power, and strengthens community-based responses in the fight for human rights, focusing particularly on the genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar. Smith underscores the role of Russia in supporting the military junta in Myanmar and the plight of children in the largest refugee settlement in the world -- the Rohingya camps near Cox’s Bazar in southeast Bangladesh.

HUMAN RIGHTS CRISES AND MOVEMENTS AROUND THE WORLD SERIES:

The world is aghast at the atrocities Russia is committing on the territory of Ukraine, an independent Member State of the United Nations. How effective will the World Court be in holding Russia to account for its international law breaches? Pieter Bekker discusses the question of enforceability of rulings issued by the International Court of Justice and addresses various facets of the human impact when sovereign states defy international law.

HUMAN RIGHTS CRISES AND MOVEMENTS AROUND THE WORLD SERIES:

The rights of transgender and nonbinary persons are under siege in the United States, including the right to abortion. Allison Whelan advocates for why we need an inclusive approach to reproductive justice that acknowledges the unique burdens that antiabortion laws impose on transgender and nonbinary persons, as well as other historically marginalized communities.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

One driver of the wealth gap in America is that households of people of color are less likely to own stock. Anthony Mohr, a 2021 ALI Fellow, says we should give students real shares to cultivate their interest in investing and creating wealth.

SHAPING AND EMPOWERING THE FUTURE OF LATINOS IN THE U.S. SERIES:

For over 50 years, UnidosUS has addressed the social, economic, and political issues facing Latinos in the U.S. through advocacy, programs, and partnerships. Sonia Pérez, COO of UnidosUS, discusses their work and the current issues affecting Latinos, a growing demographic now comprising 62 million people and almost 20% of the U.S. population.

SHAPING AND EMPOWERING THE FUTURE OF LATINOS IN THE U.S. SERIES:

The daughter of migrant farmworkers, activist, and change-agent, Mónica Rámirez shares her work on bringing visibility to and advocating for the largely unseen migrant worker community. Ramirez’s impact includes authoring influential pieces including the “Dear Sisters” letter from the voice of women farmworkers standing in solidarity with women in Hollywood, which sparked the TIME’S UP movement.