Science, Technology, and Society Seminar: STS Circle at Harvard

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Date and Time

November 16, 2026
12:15PM - 02:00PM EST

Location

CGIS South, S354

1730 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States
A light lunch is provided for those that register by 1:00pm on the Thursday before the event.

Whose AI? Whose Justice? Congressional Approaches to a Just AI Future

Speaker

  • Mark Lannigan, Regional Director for U.S. Senator Ed Markey; Fellow, Program on Science, Technology & Society, Harvard Kennedy School.

Chair

  • Sheila Jasanoff, Faculty Associate. Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies; Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy, Committee on Degrees in Environmental Science and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School.

Contact

Tenzin Dadak
tdadak@hks.harvard.edu

Abstract

The United States Congress is currently in the process of defining a category of legislative issues that we call “AI issues.” What we choose to include in or exclude from that category of issues will have a profound bearing on coalition-building and the political activation of Congress toward AI-directed legislative ends. This boundary work does not only epistemically delimit a set of issues. It is also constructing normative ideas around the issues contained within the AI category, as that category tries to demarcate what AI is and what is due to the wider community from its further development.

Congress’ role in this categorization process is unique, as proposed legislative solutions are themselves determining what to include and exclude as AI issues. The political makeup of Congress, then, will help to constitute the “AI issues” category. I will explore examples of this in Congressional approaches to AI legislation and analyze how the results of the U.S. midterm elections may come to bear on both the strategic and the constitutive aspects of defining this class of issues.

Bio

Mark Lannigan is Regional Director for U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), a role in which he leads the Senator’s technology and telecommunications work in Massachusetts. He is also a member of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee and Youth Outreach Subcommittee Chair of MassDems. Prior to these roles, Mark was a policy and campaign advisor for a number of Massachusetts state officials and managed political campaigns in the Commonwealth from the local to national levels. Mark is a graduate of Tufts University and a current STS Fellow.

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Valuing Accessibility

The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the access provided, please get in touch with the person listed as the contact on the individual event listing in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance, if possible. Please note that the Weatherhead Center will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.