AI can make governing better instead of worse. Yes, you heard that right.
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AI can make governing better instead of worse. Yes, you heard that right.
HKS faculty members Danielle Allen and Mark Fagan explain the guidelines, guardrails, and principles that can help governments get AI right.
Danielle Allen and Mark Fagan, say that
when tested, thoughtfully deployed, and
regulated AI actually can help governments
serve citizens better. Sure, there is no
shortage of horror stories these days
about the intersection of AI and
government—from a municipal chatbot that
told restaurant owners it was OK to serve
food that had been gnawed by rodents to
artificial intelligence police tools that
misidentify suspects through faulty facial
recognition. And now the Trump
Administration and Elon Musk’s so-called
Department of Government Efficiency or
DOGE say they are fast-tracking the use of
AI to root out government waste and fraud,
while making public few details about the
tools they are using and how they’ll be
deployed. But Allen and Fagan, say that
while careless deployment creates risks
like opening security holes, exacerbating
inefficiencies, and automating flawed
decision-making, AI done the right way can
help administrators and policymakers make
better and smarter decisions, and can make
governments more accessible and responsive
to the citizens they serve. They also say
we need to reorient our thinking from AI
being a replacement for human judgement to
more of a partnership model where each
brings its strengths to the table.
Danielle Allen is an HKS professor and the
founder of the Allen Lab for Democracy
Renovation. Mark Fagan is a lecturer in
public policy and faculty chair of the
Delivering Public Services section of the
Executive Education Program at HKS. They
join PolicyCast host Ralph Ranalli to
explain the guidelines, guardrails, and
principles that can help government get AI
right.
Policy Recommendations
| Danielle Allen’s recommendations |
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| Mark Fagan’s recommendations |
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Episode Notes
Danielle Allen is the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. She is a professor of political philosophy, ethics, and public policy and director of the Democratic Knowledge Project and of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation. She is also a seasoned nonprofit leader, democracy advocate, national voice on AI and tech ethics, and author. A past chair of the Mellon Foundation and Pulitzer Prize Board, and former dean of humanities at the University of Chicago, she is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and American Philosophical Society. Her many books include the widely acclaimed “Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship Since Brown v Board of Education,” “Our Declaration: a reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality,” and “Justice by Means of Democracy.” She writes a column on constitutional democracy for the Washington Post. Outside the University, she is a co-chair for the Our Common Purpose Commission and founder and president for Partners in Democracy, where she advocates for democracy reform to create greater voice and access in our democracy, and to drive progress towards a new social contract that serves and includes us all. She holds PhDs from Harvard University in government and from King’s College, University of Cambridge, in classics; master’s degrees from Harvard University in government and King’s College, University of Cambridge in classics; and an AB from Princeton in classics.
Mark Fagan is a lecturer in public policy and former senior fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School. He teaches Operations Management, Service Delivery via Systems Thinking and Supply Chain Management, and Policy Design and Delivery in theSchool's degree programs. In executive education, he is the faculty chair for Delivering Public Services: Efficiency, Equity and Quality. In another program, he teaches strategy and cross boundary collaboration. The focus of his research is on the role of regulation in competitive markets. He is presently spearheading an initiative at the Taubman Center for State and Local Government that examines the policy and associated regulatory impacts of autonomous vehicles. He leads efforts to catalyze policy making through Autonomous Vehicle Policy Scrums, cross sector policy design sessions hosted by governments from Boston to Buenos Aries to Toronto. Fagan earned a masters degree in city and regional planning at Harvard University and a BA at Bucknell University.
Ralph Ranalli of the HKS Office of Communications and Public Affairs is the host, producer, and editor of HKS PolicyCast. A former journalist, public television producer, and entrepreneur, he holds a BA in political science from UCLA and a master’s in journalism from Columbia University.
Scheduling and logistical support for PolicyCast is provided by Lilian Wainaina. Design and graphics support is provided by Laura King and the OCPA Design Team. Web design and social media promotion support is provided by Catherine Santrock and Natalie Montaner of the OCPA Digital Team. Editorial support is provided by Nora Delaney and Robert O’Neill of the OCPA Editorial Team.