McCourt School's Tech & Public Policy (TPP) Grants Program - Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Justice

McCourt School's Tech & Public Policy (TPP) Grants Program - Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Justice is sponsored by Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy (in partnership with Project Liberty Institute). The TPP Grants Program supports research exploring the role of emerging technologies in society and their impact on values such as democracy, freedom, and autonomy.

Tech & Public Policy program awards $1. 5M in grants to 24 Georgetown researchers | McCourt School of Public Policy | Announcements General News Research Tech & Public Policy Tech & Public Policy program awards $1. 5M in grants to 24 Georgetown researchers The awardees will advance research in AI, digital governance and ethics of emerging technologies.

The McCourt School’s Tech & Public Policy program (TPP) administers the annual Grants Program to support research that explores the role of emerging technologies in society and their impact on values such as democracy, freedom and autonomy.

In partnership with Project Liberty Institute, the grants aim to encourage collaboration among technologists, ethicists, legal scholars and social scientists as they investigate novel uses and misuses of new technologies to better understand how public policy might be more responsive and innovative.

The 2026-2027 TPP Grants Program awardees Artificial intelligence, ethics and justice Generative AI, Humanness and Misinformation in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election Lisa Singh and Tiago Ventura , McCourt School of Public Policy; Leticia Bode , Communication, Culture and Technology, Georgetown University Public Opinion About the Development, Release and Use of AI Models Josh Goldstein , Georgetown University School of Foreign Service; Michael Tomz, Stanford University The goal of this study is to enhance ethical governance by bringing into the conversation an oft-missed voice: that of the American public.

The study will consist of a series of surveys that will not only measure public opinion but also use experiments to isolate the key factors that drive public attitudes about artificial intelligence. It will also explore the factors that influence support or opposition to the technology.

AI and Justice: Public Perceptions of AI Systems Masking or Magnifying Inequities Andrea Headley , McCourt School of Public Policy By examining the interplay between AI technologies and citizen perceptions, this study seeks to offer evidence-based recommendations for the ethical governance of these technologies in criminal justice.

The project will investigate whether technologies perceived as either assistive or coercive impact the public’s perceptions of trust and equity in AI-enabled criminal justice practice and examine how individuals define the utility, function and fairness of AI-based technologies. Mitt Regan, Jr. , Georgetown University Law Center; Jovana Davidovic, University of Iowa; Gregory M.

Reichberg, Peace Research Institute Oslo; Henrik Syse, Harvard University This study seeks to analyze the development and operation of an AI-enabled weapon across its entire lifecycle to enhance the ability of states and other actors to ensure the ethical use of such weapons.

The research aims to shift the conversation from a binary focus on whether a human or a machine performs a specific task to a focus on the subtle ways in which human and machine intelligence combine to perform the numerous and varied functions that culminate in firing a weapon.

Digital governance, privacy and security Enhancing Metadata Security for all Smartphone Applications Micah Sherr , Georgetown University The goal of this two-year project is to improve the security and privacy of smartphone users through the design and proof-of-concept implementation of a decentralized privacy-preserving push notification architecture.

AI Policy Foundations: Worldwide Empirical Analysis and Governance Frameworks Marc Rotenberg and Eleni Kyriakides , Georgetown University Law Center; Merve Hickok, April Yoder and Christabel Randolph, Center for AI and Digital Policy The Center for AI and Digital Policy proposes to publish two comprehensive books for AI policy: the AI and Democratic Values Index, an extensive review of national AI Policies and Practices, and the AI Policy Sourcebook, a resource containing the primary frameworks for AI governance.

The aim is to make foundational reference works widely available for AI policymakers, researchers and journalists that are fact-based, contain empirical data and provide authoritative AI governance frameworks.

Designing a Governance Model for Social Robots Laura DeNardis , Georgetown University Center for Digital Ethics; Anupam Chander , Georgetown University Law Center; Tatsuhiko Inatani and Hiroki Habuka, Kyoto University This research project aims to develop a governance model for social robots (SRs) — AI-driven physical devices that directly engage human emotions, cognition and behavior.

The study, among other objectives, will compare how brain responses to interactions with robots differ between Japan and the U.S., devise an economic methodology to evaluate the benefits and costs of SRs and conduct experiments by applying it to people from different cultures to reveal differences in their values and risk attitudes.

Emerging Issues, Threats and Opportunities in Space Security Anna Cave , Georgetown University Law Center; Almudena Azcárate Ortega, Center for National Security This study will advance academic research on emerging space security threats linked to rapid technological growth, educate states and other actors about space threats and translate research into policy impact.

Kostadin Kushlev , Georgetown University; Ravi Iyer, University of Southern California Trans-Atlantic War on Content Moderation Renée DiResta , McCourt School of Public Policy; Anupam Chander , Georgetown University Law Center; Mike Masnick, TechDirt, Copia Institute; Dean Jackson, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Ashkhen Kazaryan, The Future of Free Speech; Karolin Rippich, Dublin University; Berin Szóka, TechFreedom Building Robust Algorithmic Tools to Advance the Study of Information Integrity in Digital Ecosystems Renée DiResta , Thessalia Merivaki and Ioannis Ziogas , McCourt School of Public Policy; Cameron Hickey, National Conference on Citizenship This study aims to leverage existing research on building resilient communication ecosystems and improving information integrity within digital ecosystems conducted at the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Massive Data Institute , in partnership with nonprofit, nonpartisan civic organizations.

Building Digital Infrastructure to Reduce Administrative Burdens in the Safety Net Through Automated Renewal Jeremy Barofsky , Sebastian Jilke and Eric Giannella , McCourt School of Public Policy This study seeks to strengthen the civic infrastructure needed to support continued government capacity improvements through digital transformation, with a particular focus on the technological systems that states use to improve automated renewal and income verification in the Medicaid and SNAP programs.

Redesigning the Governance Stack: New Institutional Approaches to Information Economy Harms Paul Ohm , Julie Cohen and Meg Leta Jones , Georgetown University Law Center Part of a multi-year effort to reinvent the institutions and tools the administrative state uses to govern technology and technology companies, this research will prioritize public accountability and strong public oversight.

It will seek to restore and recenter the rule of law within a new institutional framework designed around algorithmically driven information-economy needs and failure modes. This award is a funding extension from a previous TPP grant.

Citizen Journalism in the Digital Age: Trust, Action, and Local Problem-Solving Bhumi Purohit , McCourt School of Public Policy; Gabrielle Kruks-Wisner, University of Virginia; Tanu Kumar, Claremont Graduate University; Jessica Mayberry, Video Volunteers This research will investigate the role of online citizen journalism in fostering trust, civic engagement and effective local governance.

Additionally, the study will explore three central questions about when and how citizen-reported information reshapes local media landscapes and, by extension, citizen engagement with government.

Developing a Scalable Virtual Reality Training and Evaluation Platform for Active Bystandership in Law Enforcement Cassandra Ramdath , Georgetown University Law Center; Evan Barba , Georgetown University Part of a multi-year project to assess the effectiveness of Active Bystandership Training for Law Enforcement (ABLE), a practical, scenario-based training that prepares officers to successfully intervene to prevent harm using a Virtual Reality platform called ABLE-Trainer.

Initially, this research will serve as a testbed for CICS’s standardized training program, currently used by 286 law enforcement agencies. This award is a funding extension from a previous TPP grant. Tagged McCourt School News Research Tech & Public Policy