Will Data Destroy Democracy?

The discussion between Lawrence Lessig, Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, Darren Bolding, CTO of Cambridge Analytica, and Matthew Prince, Co-Founder & CEO of Cloudflare, revolved around the role of data in shaping political outcomes. They touched upon how Cambridge Analytica used data to help the Trump campaign win the presidency, debated whether finance or data is the real divider in politics, and discussed if technology like Cambridge Analytica's could corrode shared understanding. Lessig argued that while the internet has made communication easier than ever before, it has also undermined our ability to do democracy as we did before. Bolding maintained that data science can be part of the solution by allowing individuals to better communicate with people they know and build virtual communities in each "town." The discussion ended with a Q&A session where participants raised questions about Cambridge Analytica's role in creating problems like Willie Horton, ethical microtargeting, and how data science can be used responsibly.