There is an event happening Wednesday, September 20, 7-8pm at the main New York Public Library (NYPL) that will feature esteemed sociologist Dr. Alondra Nelson, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Ressa, along with Professor Tim Wu and Ambassador Karen Kornbluh.

Come through if you can! It should a great event and has in person and online options, all at no cost.

To join the event in-person | Please register for an In-Person Ticket. Doors will open 45 minutes before the program begins. For LIVE from NYPL events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment; we will do our best to accommodate everyone. Booked seats that have not been claimed will be released shortly before start time, and seats may become available then. A standby line will form 45 minutes before the program.

To join the livestream | A livestream of this event will be available on this NYPL event page. To receive an email reminder shortly in advance of the event, please be sure to register! If you encounter any issues, please join us on NYPL’s YouTube channel.

 

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Ambassador Karen Kornbluh has helped shape policy as a public servant and diplomat since the early days of the commercial internet. The New York Times called her a “passionate and effective advocate for economic equality,” and she was named one of Washingtonian magazine’s top influencers. She is currently Distinguished Fellow for Technology and Competitiveness at the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. and chairs the boards of both Radio Free Europe and the Open Technology Fund. Kornbluh was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate to serve as Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the economic multilateral institution based in Paris, where she spearheaded the first global internet policymaking principles, led the effort to provide open access to OECD data, and launched the OECD Gender Initiative. Kornbluh served as deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Treasury Department and director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Federal Communications Commission, where she negotiated early international and domestic internet policies. She was policy director for Senator Barack Obama and the author of his 2008 platform. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Kornbluh is a recognized thought leader on international technology policy, appearing widely in the media, and publishing broadly, including on The New Foreign Policy of Technology and The Washington Post.

Alondra Nelson is the Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study. A former deputy assistant to President Joe Biden, she served as acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. At OSTP, Nelson drove strategy to develop science and technology policy that expands economic opportunity and ensures that innovation works to strengthen democratic values. She led the development of the White House’s “AI Bill of Rights,” which lays the groundwork to safeguard people’s rights and access to opportunities as algorithms and AI reach further into our lives. She was previously president of the Social Science Research Council, and in this role developed a series of initiatives that brought research to bear on the impact of technology platforms on society. An acclaimed researcher, Nelson is the author of several books, including The Social Life of DNA. Her essays, reviews, and commentary have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Wired, and Science. She is a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Council of Foreign Relations.

Maria Ressa co-founded Rappler, the top digital only news site that is leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines. As Rappler’s CEO and president, Maria has endured constant political harassment and arrests by the Duterte government, forced to post bail ten times to stay free. Rappler’s battle for truth and democracy is the subject of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival documentary, A Thousand Cuts. For her courage and journalistic integrity, Maria has received numerous accolades. In October 2021, she was one of two journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” In 2022, she was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to the Leadership Panel of the Internet Governance Forum and serves as its Vice-Chair. She is an inaugural Carnegie Distinguished Fellow at Columbia University’s newly launched Institute of Global Politics, where starting this fall she will lead several projects related to the role of artificial intelligence in democracy. In July 2024, she will join the faculty of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs as a professor of professional practice. Maria authored Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of Al-Qaeda’s Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia and From Bin Laden to Facebook. Her most recent book, How to Stand Up to a Dictator, was released in November 2022 and has been translated into 20 languages with more to come next year. Maria focuses critical attention on the breakdown of our global information ecosystem and how interconnected communities of action can hold the line to protect democratic values.

Tim Wu is the Silver Professor of Law, Science and Technology at Columbia University Law School. He was previously an official in the Biden White House, where he served as special assistant to the President for Competition and Technology Policy. He is the author of four books, including The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age (2018), The Attention Merchants (2016), and The Master Switch (2010). Named by National Law Journal as one of America’s 100 most influential lawyers, he clerked for Justice Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court, and lives in New York city with his wife and two daughters.

There is an event happening Wednesday, September 20, 7-8pm at the main New York Public Library (NYPL) that will feature esteemed sociologist Dr. Alondra Nelson, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Ressa, along with Professor Tim Wu and Ambassador Karen Kornbluh.

Come through if you can! It should a great event and has in person and online options, all at no cost.

To join the event in-person | Please register for an In-Person Ticket. Doors will open 45 minutes before the program begins. For LIVE from NYPL events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment; we will do our best to accommodate everyone. Booked seats that have not been claimed will be released shortly before start time, and seats may become available then. A standby line will form 45 minutes before the program.

To join the livestream | A livestream of this event will be available on this NYPL event page. To receive an email reminder shortly in advance of the event, please be sure to register! If you encounter any issues, please join us on NYPL’s YouTube channel.

 

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Ambassador Karen Kornbluh has helped shape policy as a public servant and diplomat since the early days of the commercial internet. The New York Times called her a “passionate and effective advocate for economic equality,” and she was named one of Washingtonian magazine’s top influencers. She is currently Distinguished Fellow for Technology and Competitiveness at the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. and chairs the boards of both Radio Free Europe and the Open Technology Fund. Kornbluh was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate to serve as Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the economic multilateral institution based in Paris, where she spearheaded the first global internet policymaking principles, led the effort to provide open access to OECD data, and launched the OECD Gender Initiative. Kornbluh served as deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Treasury Department and director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Federal Communications Commission, where she negotiated early international and domestic internet policies. She was policy director for Senator Barack Obama and the author of his 2008 platform. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Kornbluh is a recognized thought leader on international technology policy, appearing widely in the media, and publishing broadly, including on The New Foreign Policy of Technology and The Washington Post.

Alondra Nelson is the Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study. A former deputy assistant to President Joe Biden, she served as acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. At OSTP, Nelson drove strategy to develop science and technology policy that expands economic opportunity and ensures that innovation works to strengthen democratic values. She led the development of the White House’s “AI Bill of Rights,” which lays the groundwork to safeguard people’s rights and access to opportunities as algorithms and AI reach further into our lives. She was previously president of the Social Science Research Council, and in this role developed a series of initiatives that brought research to bear on the impact of technology platforms on society. An acclaimed researcher, Nelson is the author of several books, including The Social Life of DNA. Her essays, reviews, and commentary have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Wired, and Science. She is a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Council of Foreign Relations.

Maria Ressa co-founded Rappler, the top digital only news site that is leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines. As Rappler’s CEO and president, Maria has endured constant political harassment and arrests by the Duterte government, forced to post bail ten times to stay free. Rappler’s battle for truth and democracy is the subject of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival documentary, A Thousand Cuts. For her courage and journalistic integrity, Maria has received numerous accolades. In October 2021, she was one of two journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” In 2022, she was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to the Leadership Panel of the Internet Governance Forum and serves as its Vice-Chair. She is an inaugural Carnegie Distinguished Fellow at Columbia University’s newly launched Institute of Global Politics, where starting this fall she will lead several projects related to the role of artificial intelligence in democracy. In July 2024, she will join the faculty of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs as a professor of professional practice. Maria authored Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of Al-Qaeda’s Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia and From Bin Laden to Facebook. Her most recent book, How to Stand Up to a Dictator, was released in November 2022 and has been translated into 20 languages with more to come next year. Maria focuses critical attention on the breakdown of our global information ecosystem and how interconnected communities of action can hold the line to protect democratic values.

Tim Wu is the Silver Professor of Law, Science and Technology at Columbia University Law School. He was previously an official in the Biden White House, where he served as special assistant to the President for Competition and Technology Policy. He is the author of four books, including The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age (2018), The Attention Merchants (2016), and The Master Switch (2010). Named by National Law Journal as one of America’s 100 most influential lawyers, he clerked for Justice Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court, and lives in New York city with his wife and two daughters.