About our Data, Technology & Privacy Pillar

This pillar covers a range of overlapping digital issues that are among the most relevant and rapidly evolving in the U.S. today. These include digital surveillance and privacy, electoral systems and disinformation, algorithmic bias, and the digital divide. With an increasing number of domestic and international events linked to developments in these areas, this pillar seeks to understand what is changing and how these changes affect different communities, especially those historically vulnerable to their immediate and downstream effects.

Why it matters now

The use and propagation of emerging technologies tends to front run legal safeguards or public understanding. Particularly pressing examples include facial recognition software's tendency to produce higher false positive rates for those with darker skin tones, algorithmic bias leading to wrongful arrests, and AI tools like large language models (LLMs) reshaping access to consumer mass media. These developments carry serious implications for privacy, equity, and democratic resilience.

Recent Briefings

Written by our analysts, these articles break down important developments and explain how they fit into the broader context of this issue.

Allegations of AI Use as a New Weapon in Geopolitical Conflict

By Casimir Wypyski | October 14, 2025

Early September saw a major development in the increasingly protracted conflict between the US and Venezuela, a campaign undertaken by the US in the name of combating “narco-terrorists” operating in and around the state. Part of the early campaign involved the release of declassified footage of a boat being destroyed by what is theorized to…

Key issues and focus areas

These are the major topics we’re tracking within this pillar. Each one captures a core aspect of how the issue shows up in policy, systems, or everyday life.

Digital Surveillance and Privacy:

Surveillance is becoming increasingly common across the globe, and with it comes the potential for pervasive and often discriminatory harms. We consider the available information and what situations and policies are responsible for the increasing cheapening of personal privacy.

Facial Recognition and Algorithmic Bias:

Facial recognition systems are more likely to misidentify individuals with darker skin tones. These errors have led to wrongful arrests, questionable imprisonment rates between distinct groups, and magnified distrust in the use of algorithmic technology for law enforcement.

Electoral Systems and Disinformation:

Online propaganda and foreign interference have shaped recent election cycles. Generative AI now enables rapid production of both misinformation and disinformation, complicating content moderation and raising new policy challenges.

AI Governance and Algorithmic Ethics:

The EU AI Act, UNESCO guidelines, and Algorithmic Accountability Act are pioneering attempts to regulate AI systems that increasingly influence sectors from healthcare to defence.

Digital Divide and Access:

Millions of Americans still lack access to reliable high-speed internet. Disparities in digital literacy and infrastructure disproportionately affect low-income, rural, and elderly populations.

Who's working on this

These are leading organizations addressing this issue. These groups conduct research, shape policy, and provide resources that help drive progress within this pillar.

Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) – Advocates for civil liberties in the digital age
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) – Legal and policy watchdog focused on privacy, surveillance, and free speech
Data & Society Research Institute – Examines the social implications of data-centric technologies
Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP) – Monitors and evaluates AI governance proposals
Berkman Klein Center at Harvard – Interdisciplinary hub for technology, law, and society research