John Palfrey

Prof. danah boyd (Geri Gay Professor of Communications, Cornell University; founder, Data + Society) has a new book out — Data Are Made, Not Found (University of Chicago, 2026) — and she’ll be in Chicago to talk about it early next month.

It is our shared goal at MacArthur Foundation to give more and ask less of our grantees and investees during this time of crisis.

I had the great pleasure to return to my hometown of Boston, MA, to join Philanthropy Massachusetts for their annual convening.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Capital & Main Exposes Gala in Los Angeles, CA.

The past ten days or so seem like a different era for AI governance.

On Saturday, September 12, leaders of three of the biggest firms working on Artificial Intelligence seemed to agree that it was time to moderate the pace of development of the frontiers of AI.

An attack on science is an attack on democracy.

Verity Harding of the University of Cambridge pulled together an anthology of essays about Artificial Intelligence and Geopolitics as of early 2026.

John Palfrey, May 29, 2026, Cambridge, MA, USA Thank you, Dean Brown-Nagin, and all Radcliffe Institute staff for putting on such a wonderful day for us all.

Guidance on Writing Short Essays First written in 2012 for high school students in my courses at Andover, lightly edited in 2026 to share for no particular reason other than a student somewhere might find it here.

This winter I’ve been enjoying two new books that speak to the topic of memory as one ages.

From Turkey, talking to lots of people about the future of Internet filtering, I’m struck by the value of a broad, public debate about what kind of a network we want the Internet to become over time.

It’s been a long time since I sat down to write a blog post like this.

Eszter Hargittai and I have been working on a book project for the past few years about how older people use new technologies.

John Palfrey, MacArthur Foundation, October 1, 2023 To all the people of Concord, Massachusetts, and particularly to the town’s fabulous library staff and supporters: congratulations on your 150th anniversary!

The International Council of the Museum of Modern Art Prepared Remarks The Arts Club, Chicago, IL, April 2023 Introduction It is a great privilege to welcome you all to Chicago.