Data & Society Research Institute
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Grants
14
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Total Awarded
$4,260,000
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Years
2014 - 2024
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Categories
Grants
2024 (3 years)
$900,000
Data & Society Research Institute (Data & Society) studies the social implications of data-centric technologies, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI). Through empirical research and active engagement, the organization’s work illuminates the values and decisions that drive these systems — and shows why they must be grounded in equity and human dignity. The organization’s work is undertaken through research programs that evolve over time including (1) AI on the Ground, which develops robust analyses of AI systems to assess their impact in order to inform their future design, use, and governance; (2) Labor Futures, which uses ethnographic research to better understand emergent disruptions in the labor force that result from data-centric technological development, with a special focus on privacy and structural inequalities; and (3) Trustworthy Infrastructure, which works alongside marginalized groups to understand emerging approaches to building trust online, as well as possibilities these practices set into motion. Across these areas of work Data & Society seeks to make its findings relevant to policymakers and the broader public through media engagement. In addition, the organization manages the Public Technology Leadership Collaborative, a peer learning collective composed of academic research centers that seeks to deepen interactions between government decision-makers and scholars grappling with the use, study, and regulation of data-centric technologies and AI. The award provides general operating support to Data & Society.
2023 (1 year)
$40,000
Data & Society Research Institute studies the social implications of data-centric technologies and automation. The organization strives to challenge existing narratives about the purpose and power of technology in society using rigorous interdisciplinary research; to expand and support a diverse field of people and organizations grappling with cultural, legal, political, and technical approaches to issues raised by data-centric technologies; to foreground the social impact of data-centric technologies to inform the development of governance structures; and, to foster a cultural practice of open experimentation and new forms of knowledge production. The award supports research, policy analysis and related activities focused on implementation of the White House Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.
2023 ( 9 months)
$35,000
Data & Society Research Institute advances understanding of the social implications of data-centric technologies and automation. The award supports the annual conference of the Platform Governance Research Network, being held virtually April 3rd - 5th, 2023. The conference brings together a global interdisciplinary network of platform governance scholars. The conference focuses on the future of platform governance, soliciting papers on the theme of “Imagining Sustainable, Trustworthy, and Democratic Platform Governance.”
2021 (1 year)
$20,000
Data & Society Research Institute advances understanding of the social implications of data-centric technologies and automation. The award supports the First Annual Conference of The Platform Governance Research Network being held March 24th - 26th, 2021. Data & Society is a founding member of the network that includes a variety of research centers around the world. The goal of the conference is to highlight the current state of the research landscape focusing on platform governance issues and to identify the major limitations facing researchers from different fields, in order to spark collaborations that strive to move beyond extant limitations and disciplinary divisions.
2020 (3 years)
$900,000
Data & Society Research Institute advances understanding of the social implications of data-centric technologies and automation. The organization strives to challenge existing narratives about the purpose and power of technology in society using rigorous interdisciplinary research; to expand and support a diverse field of people and organizations grappling with cultural, legal, political, and technical approaches to issues raised by data-centric technologies; to foreground the social impact of data-centric technologies to inform the development of governance structures; and, to foster a cultural practice of open experimentation and new forms of knowledge production. Data & Society’s research is organized along four programmatic tracks: AI on the Ground; Media Manipulation Initiative; Labor Futures; and, Health, Data and Equity. Each area publishes original research, hosts workshops and events, and undertakes broader engagement strategies targeting the media, technology industry, policymakers, academics, and other civil society groups. The award provides general operating support to the organization.
2019 ( 6 months)
$41,000
Data & Society Research Institute advances public understanding of the social and cultural implications of data-centric technologies and automation. The award supports a project examining patterns of wage and price discrimination among ridehail companies operating in New York City and how they might interact with legally protected class characteristics.
2019 ( 8 months)
$12,000
Data and Society Research Institute advances public understanding of the social and cultural implications of data-centric technologies and automation. The award supports the AI.Assembly Workshop that will convene artists, academics, technologists, and humanists of color and allies to seed intersectional thought and action around the creation of AI systems, their potential impacts, as well as related policy and ethical concerns.
2018 (2 years)
$600,000
Data & Society Research Institute advances public understanding of the social and cultural implications of data-centric technologies and automation. Through interdisciplinary research and engagement, it works to ensure that knowledge guides the development and governance of technology. The award provides general support to Data and Society as it carries out four interactive objectives. First, to challenge existing narratives about the purpose and power of technology in society using rigorous interdisciplinary research. Second, to expand and support a diverse field of people and organizations grappling with the cultural, legal, political and technical approaches to issues raised by data-centric technologies. Third, to help ensure civil society, media, policymakers, and industry engage with its research insights to inform and reframe decision-making around technology. Finally, to encourage a culture and practice of open experimentation and new forms of knowledge production. Through this, the Data & Society Research Institute seeks to shape a future in which values that inform the design of data-centric technology are visible and intentionally chosen with respect for human dignity.
2018 ( 1 month)
$2,000
Data & Society is a research institute focused on the social and cultural issues arising from data-centric and automated technologies by providing and encouraging research that can ground informed, evidence-based public debates building a network of researchers and practitioners who can anticipate issues and offer insight and direction. This grant supports Data & Society to participate in a national convening of participatory civic media organizations supported through MacArthur’s Journalism and Media program. The meeting is designed to help coalesce the emerging field of participatory civic media, of which Data & Society is part, by facilitating new connections and collaborations and building a shared sense of identity among a new breed of media and culture organizations using participatory media to amplify historically marginalized voices and strengthen American democracy.
2018 ( 3 months)
$10,000
Data and Society Research Institute works to inform and influence discussions about the complex social and cultural issues arising from data-centric and automated technologies. The award will support two strategy meetings focused on future scenarios for the organization.
2016 (2 years)
$400,000
The award provides general support to the Data and Society Research Institute, which aims to inform and influence discussions about the complex social and cultural issues arising from data-centric technology development. It does this by publishing original, evidence-based, interdisciplinary research and through field building. Central to the organization’s work is exploring and highlighting the implications of data-driven decision-making for civil liberties and civil rights. Instead of taking a particular position on the issues it researches, Data and Society works to ensure that informed debates are taking place among policymakers, industry actors, journalists, academics and civil society.
2015 ( 7 months)
$25,000
The award supports the creation of research two papers exploring the question “who controls the public sphere in the age of algorithms?”
2014 (3 years 6 months)
$875,000
The Data & Society Research Institute is a New York City-based think tank focused on social, cultural, and ethical issues arising from data-centric technological development. The Institute will use this grant to support a set of activities exploring issues of privacy and trust that will help create a policy environment that is supportive of enacting Connected Learning--the approach to learning that has emerged from MacArthur’s grantmaking and is designed to prepare young people for the digital age--across formal and informal learning environments, including schools, libraries, museums and online.
2014 (2 years 4 months)
$400,000
The Data & Society Research Institute is dedicated to addressing social, technical, ethical, legal, and policy issues created by emerging data-centric technologies. This grant will explore the legal, economic, and cultural implications of "intelligent systems," software that exercises judgment and control in lieu of human management, in fields such as medicine, finance, transportation, and security. It will seek underlying principles that can be applied across these fields, build networks between legal, technical, and economic experts, develop specific legal recommendations, and respond to the needs of policy makers.
