Jonathan Zittrain

Still a teenager, Jonathan Zittrain almost became a full-time AI researcher in the 1980s – and then came to believe that problems among and involving people were actually tougher. He’s followed what technology is doing to us, and how we might ourselves shape it, ever since. Today he holds three professorships at Harvard, where he co-founded its Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.

Hailed as a top-tier speaker and advisor, Zittrain’s charismatic, informative, and thoughtful style engages audiences of all levels, bridging knowledge gaps with wit, and sidestepping simplistic predictions and frameworks. By cultivating a sense of empowerment, he reassures attendees they need not feel abandoned or left behind, promoting an environment where making complex digital decisions becomes less overwhelming.

Zittrain is not easy to pigeonhole. He is a constitutionalist, a computer scientist, and a policy expert, and clarifies such things as the construction and operation of AI models and the intricate risks posed by engaging them. As a guiding light for organizations venturing into the AI domain, he provides a sobering analysis to assist leaders and institutions in strategy formation and implementation. Nearly fifteen years ago, he wrote the field-shaking “The Future of the Internet – And How to Stop It,” predicting many of the digital issues we confront today. He is working on its sequel, “Well, We Tried.”

How to Stay Safe on the New AI Frontier

Zittrain’s research significantly focuses on understanding the unprecedented fast-paced development and deployment of AI. He uses metaphors and cultural references to make the complex training methods of these models and their eccentric outputs accessible and clear to listeners. He considers what will happen next from a “bottomless wellspring of sustained, companionable conversation” – and helps forge practical strategies for mitigating the many issues and uncertainties.

“The more you know about how something is built, the more you can recognize when it doesn’t make sense,” he observes.

Zittrain adeptly reveals why these AI models, designed to provide coherent answers over factual ones, frequently deliver “hallucinations” and deceptive narratives, and scrutinizes the prospect that these issues can be ameliorated. Zittrain soberly considers AI’s potential hazards – from misinformation and bias reinforcement to job displacement, intellectual property disputes and even existential threats. Zittrain remains an active voice in this dialogue.

With its capacity to transform all business sectors, the implications of AI cannot be disregarded. Zittrain’s insights clarify AI’s complex mechanisms and highlight its potential benefits and risks, enabling leaders to harness the AI revolution to their advantage. Under his guidance, organizations do more than merely brace for AI’s next wave – they actively shape their own future within it.

Jonathan Zittrain is the George Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School. He is also a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a professor of computer science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, director of the Harvard Law School Library, and co-founder and director of Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.

His research interests include the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence; battles for control of digital property; the regulation of cryptography; new privacy frameworks for loyalty to users of online services; the roles of intermediaries within Internet architecture; and the useful and unobtrusive deployment of technology in education.

Zittrain established the Assembly Program, a three-track fellowship program that convenes cohorts of experts, professionals, and students to develop solutions to complex technology policy issues, including those in cybersecurity, AI and online disinformation. He also championed the development of the Caselaw Access Project, which has expanded free public access to U.S. case law.

Zittrain is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Board of Directors of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He has served on the Board of Advisors for Scientific American, as a Trustee of the Internet Society, and as a Forum Fellow of the World Economic Forum, which named him a Young Global Leader. He was the Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at the Federal Communications Commission, where he chaired the Open Internet Advisory Committee. His book, “The Future of the Internet – And How to Stop It,” predicted the end of general purpose client computing and the corresponding rise of new gatekeepers.

Jonathan Zittrain is available to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting meetings, interactive workshops and customized keynotes through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers & Advisors, a division of Stern Strategy Group^®.