Research independence
Questions and conclusions follow evidence and analytical judgment.
About the Institute
Independent inquiry into technology and public life.
The Institute studies technological change as an economic, institutional, political, scientific, and social process.
Advance knowledge and improve public decision-making.
The Technology & Society Institute examines the economics of innovation, technological change, and the policies and regulations that govern emerging technologies. Its mission is to advance knowledge and inform policymakers through independent, rigorous research, educational programs, policy dialogue, and conferences addressing major technological and societal challenges.
The Institute connects economics, public policy, political economy, technology and society studies, security studies, law, engineering, and computational research. This interdisciplinary approach clarifies how technologies develop, how institutions govern them, and how their benefits, risks, and authority consequences are distributed.
Technology, Society, and Institutions
Scientific knowledge, technological systems, and institutions develop through continuous interaction. Knowledge and technical instruments create new possibilities, while laws, standards, investments, organizational practices, economic incentives, and public values influence which technologies receive support, how they are designed, and whose needs they serve. Technologies can reorganize markets, military capabilities, social relationships, public institutions, and everyday life. These settings also influence how technologies develop and where they are used.
The Institute examines these relationships across time. Research traces how technological systems emerge, gain acceptance and authority, face public scrutiny, and change through regulation, institutional adaptation, and practical use. It also considers how technological change distributes benefits and risks, establishes public priorities, and shifts responsibility and decision-making authority among governments, firms, experts, and communities.
Institutional principles
Methodological rigor
Methods fit the problem, disclose limitations, and withstand informed scrutiny.
Interdisciplinary inquiry
Technological change requires economic, political, legal, social, and technical analysis.
Public relevance
Research should clarify policy choices, consequences, and institutional responsibilities.