Eleven sessions across six days — from interpretable AI to the geopolitics of internet infrastructure.
№ 01
David Weinberger
Technologist & Fellow, Berkman Klein Center, Harvard
Mon 22 · 11:00 AMKnowledge & Internet
Philosopher-turned-technologist and co-author of the Cluetrain Manifesto. His work explores how the internet rewires knowledge, business, and democratic society. Former Co-Director of the Harvard Library Innovation Lab.
Co-wrote the Cluetrain Manifesto (1999) — the text that predicted the social web before social media existed. Still referenced in every serious digital strategy conversation.
Ex-Director, Shorenstein Center, Harvard Kennedy School
Mon 22 · 1:45 PMMedia & Democracy
Expert at the intersection of digital media, politics, and misinformation. Author of The End of Big (2013), arguing that digital disruption redistributes power from institutions to individuals.
Ran Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign internet strategy — the first major digital political campaign in history, a model studied in every communications school worldwide.
Associate Professor, UMass Lowell · Research Affiliate, MIT Digital Economy
Tue 23 · 9:00 AMFuture of Work
19 years in industry including VP at Motorola before entering academia. Her research centers on platform strategy, digital ecosystems, and workforce transformation. Author of Workforce Ecosystems (MIT Press, 2023).
Was at Motorola during the smartphone transition era — she has lived through one of tech history's biggest disruptions from the inside, and now researches why companies survive (or don't) those shifts.
Entrepreneur & Data Scientist · Fellow, Berkman Klein Center 2024–25
Tue 23 · 11:00 AMInternet Infrastructure
Founder of Renesys (acquired by Dyn → Oracle Internet Intelligence), pioneer in internet measurement and geopolitics of digital infrastructure. Currently researching internet history preservation at Harvard Law Library Innovation Lab.
His company Renesys was the first to detect Egypt's internet shutdown in real time in 2011 — the moment the world realized governments could "turn off" the internet. Made global front pages.
VP of AI, Workday · Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School
Tue 23 · 1:45 PMAI Ethics & Policy
Founding member of the U.S. Digital Service across three presidential administrations and inaugural Executive Director of the U.S. National AI Advisory Committee. Teaches Product Management & Society at HKS.
Part of the team that rescued Healthcare.gov after its disastrous 2013 launch — one of the most high-profile government tech failures ever turned around. Named 2024 ABIE Technical Leadership Award recipient.
WilmerHale Clinical Professor of Law · Co-Director, Berkman Klein Center
Wed 24 · 9:00 AMCyberlaw & IP
Leading authority on internet law, copyright, and music tech at Harvard Law School. Directs the Cyberlaw Clinic and serves as HLS Dean's Designate to the Harvard Innovation Lab. Former Senior Director of Legal Affairs at EMI Music North America.
Has shaped how copyright law applies to the streaming era — his work sits behind the legal frameworks that govern Spotify, YouTube, and every platform that pays (or disputes paying) artists today.
For 25 years, the defining voice of Boston's innovation economy at the Boston Globe, Wired, and Fast Company. Founder of Innovation Leader, a media and research company serving corporate innovators. Author of Inventing the Movies.
The single journalist who has covered Boston's tech ecosystem longer than anyone — if it happened in the Cambridge/Boston innovation scene in the last 25 years, he wrote about it first.
Assistant Professor, Strategy Unit, Harvard Business School
Wed 24 · 1:45 PMDigital Economics
His landmark 2024 study revealed that open source software represents $9 trillion in hidden value for the global economy. Policy advisor to the UN, OECD, and the European Commission on digital strategy and software economics.
The "$9 trillion open source" figure — widely covered by the NYT, Financial Times, and Wired — came from his research. He put a number on something every tech company depends on but nobody had ever quantified.
Faculty Associate & Director of Youth and Media, Berkman Klein Center
Thu 25 · 9:00 AMYouth & Digital Media
Researches how young people (ages 12–18) navigate misinformation, AI, privacy, and civic participation. Works directly with youth cohorts to shape policy on digital well-being and the future of work.
Her research directly informs EU and US policy on minors online — the kind of work that ends up in legislation like the EU Digital Services Act and US kids' online safety debates.
One of the world's foremost voices on blockchain and Web3. Advises Fortune 500 companies and governments on digital transformation and emerging tech strategy. Co-author of Asset Chains (2017).
Her TED talk "How the blockchain will radically transform the economy" has millions of views and remains the most-watched accessible explainer on blockchain. Also created WIRED's iconic "blockchain explained at 5 levels of complexity" video series.
Herchel Smith Professor of Computer Science, Harvard SEAS
Fri 26 · 11:00 AMInterpretable AI
Pioneer in machine learning interpretability — the science of making AI decisions understandable to humans. Her research focuses on probabilistic methods, reinforcement learning, and AI in healthcare and high-stakes decision-making.
