Are you interested in deliberating on how generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and DALL-E are changing the way we learn? Are you fascinated by the opportunity to explore how digital tools might weave into civic and political life? Do you want to learn how Citizens' Assemblies work and be part of a Student Assembly here at MIT?

We invite you to be a member of the first-ever Tech-Enhanced Student Assembly, where you will deliberate about the risks and benefits in using Generative AI as part of the learning experience in the classroom. How can these tools be leveraged and steered to help people learn and teach better, rather than hindering intellectual growth? 

Over the course of this assembly, you will work together with your fellow students to learn more about this issue, hear from experts, listen to one another about your own experiences of using generative AI for learning, and develop a set of collective recommendations for your fellow students and your professors. 

It is an opportunity to learn about Citizens' Assemblies by joining one. Citizens’ Assemblies represent an approach increasingly used for public decision making by governments around the world to involve everyday people in policy making, which is demonstrating that another democratic paradigm beyond elections is possible. Together, we will reimagine constructive communication and democratic deliberation about complex issues, and explore how technology can connect Citizens' Assemblies to broader public engagement, and be leveraged to improve their quality and transparency.

Who we are

This workshop is co-hosted by the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) and DemocracyNext. Learn more about Citizens’ Assemblies here.

Register here by January 10.

“We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.” This can also be said of the rules and technologies we construct for human cooperation, which allows for enterprise from the subtly complex (can a single person make a pencil?), to the brashly grandiose (space flight!). In return, our scaled social and political systems shape our behavior for better or worse.

In this IAP activity, we will read works from computer science, sociology, political theory, and sci-fi to explore the mechanisms of large scale cooperative behavior. The structure of the seminar is simple: read, discuss, write. We will also cover applied topics such as social networks, crypto, identity, deliberation, and the nascent philosophy of digital pluralism.

The seminar will be heavy on reading, discussion, and participation (~10 hours / wk including class time). Please commit to attending as many in-person meetings as possible. There will be a remote option generally reserved for non-MIT and remote participants. Note, IAP is intended for MIT students, so we will restrict the number of non-MIT participants.

Instructors: Wes Chow (wesc@media.mit.edu, MIT Center for Constructive Communication), Manon Revel (Harvard Berkman Klein Center)

Non-credit activity, max 15 students in person, unlimited virtual (outside MIT ok)

Time: Tu, Thu 10:30am - 12pm during the IAP period (Jan 9th - Feb 1, 2024)

Room: Sent to participants after registration

Registration: https://forms.gle/onuiNKAPyApDQg9T9

Unlock the Power of Negotiation: IAP Mini-Course with MIT CCC

Led by Josh Flax, Senior MIT CCC Senior Advisor and former U.S. Federal Mediator

Negotiating with others is a basic human necessity - you need to negotiate on campus, at work, in the home, in a job interview…and many more places! Do you know how to prepare for upcoming negotiations? Are you regularly able to negotiate successfully in a variety of situations to have your basic needs met? What if you want to increase your share of the “value on the table”, beyond simply having basic needs met?

If these and other questions interest you, join our first-ever MIT Center for Constructive Communication Negotiation Skills Mini-Course during IAP - 2024. In this two-day mini-course we play scorable negotiation simulation exercises in small groups, complete with defined roles, and then we examine our results in a fun-filled debrief as we learn from each other what we did well and what needs improvement. We’ll use our debrief learnings to drive our understanding of the principles of negotiation analysis, and learn how negotiators attempt to “grow the pie” in order for everyone to have a larger slice.

The heart of this mini-course emphasizes strategic preparation for upcoming negotiation, not just in simulation - in the real world. We’ll also learn how tactical moves and countermoves, both “at the table” and “away from the table” can dramatically influence negotiation outcomes and sustainable dealmaking. 

The principles of negotiation analysis are also uniquely important when thinking beyond negotiation, to mediation and conflict management. This mini-course is intentionally designed as an introduction for you to the world of conflict resolution - why must mediators learn so much about negotiation analysis to be successful? Come join us to find out!

Registration for this course is now full. To be added to the waitlist, please go here.

“We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.” This can also be said of the rules and technologies we construct for human cooperation, which allows for enterprise from the subtly complex (can a single person make a pencil?), to the brashly grandiose (space flight!). In return, our scaled social and political systems shape our behavior for better or worse.

In this IAP activity, we will read works from computer science, sociology, political theory, and sci-fi to explore the mechanisms of large scale cooperative behavior. The structure of the seminar is simple: read, discuss, write. We will also cover applied topics such as social networks, crypto, identity, deliberation, and the nascent philosophy of digital pluralism.

The seminar will be heavy on reading, discussion, and participation (~10 hours / wk including class time). Please commit to attending as many in-person meetings as possible. There will be a remote option generally reserved for non-MIT and remote participants. Note, IAP is intended for MIT students, so we will restrict the number of non-MIT participants.

Instructors: Wes Chow (wesc@media.mit.edu, MIT Center for Constructive Communication), Manon Revel (Harvard Berkman Klein Center)

Non-credit activity, max 15 students in person, unlimited virtual (outside MIT ok)

Time: Tu, Thu 10:30am - 12pm during the IAP period (Jan 9th - Feb 1, 2024)

Room: Sent to participants after registration

Registration: https://forms.gle/onuiNKAPyApDQg9T9

Are you interested in deliberating on how generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and DALL-E are changing the way we learn? Are you fascinated by the opportunity to explore how digital tools might weave into civic and political life? Do you want to learn how Citizens' Assemblies work and be part of a Student Assembly here at MIT?

We invite you to be a member of the first-ever Tech-Enhanced Student Assembly, where you will deliberate about the risks and benefits in using Generative AI as part of the learning experience in the classroom. How can these tools be leveraged and steered to help people learn and teach better, rather than hindering intellectual growth? 

Over the course of this assembly, you will work together with your fellow students to learn more about this issue, hear from experts, listen to one another about your own experiences of using generative AI for learning, and develop a set of collective recommendations for your fellow students and your professors. 

It is an opportunity to learn about Citizens' Assemblies by joining one. Citizens’ Assemblies represent an approach increasingly used for public decision making by governments around the world to involve everyday people in policy making, which is demonstrating that another democratic paradigm beyond elections is possible. Together, we will reimagine constructive communication and democratic deliberation about complex issues, and explore how technology can connect Citizens' Assemblies to broader public engagement, and be leveraged to improve their quality and transparency.

Who we are

This workshop is co-hosted by the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) and DemocracyNext. Learn more about Citizens’ Assemblies here.

Register here by January 10.

Unlock the Power of Negotiation: IAP Mini-Course with MIT CCC

Led by Josh Flax, Senior MIT CCC Senior Advisor and former U.S. Federal Mediator

Negotiating with others is a basic human necessity - you need to negotiate on campus, at work, in the home, in a job interview…and many more places! Do you know how to prepare for upcoming negotiations? Are you regularly able to negotiate successfully in a variety of situations to have your basic needs met? What if you want to increase your share of the “value on the table”, beyond simply having basic needs met?

If these and other questions interest you, join our first-ever MIT Center for Constructive Communication Negotiation Skills Mini-Course during IAP - 2024. In this two-day mini-course we play scorable negotiation simulation exercises in small groups, complete with defined roles, and then we examine our results in a fun-filled debrief as we learn from each other what we did well and what needs improvement. We’ll use our debrief learnings to drive our understanding of the principles of negotiation analysis, and learn how negotiators attempt to “grow the pie” in order for everyone to have a larger slice.

The heart of this mini-course emphasizes strategic preparation for upcoming negotiation, not just in simulation - in the real world. We’ll also learn how tactical moves and countermoves, both “at the table” and “away from the table” can dramatically influence negotiation outcomes and sustainable dealmaking. 

The principles of negotiation analysis are also uniquely important when thinking beyond negotiation, to mediation and conflict management. This mini-course is intentionally designed as an introduction for you to the world of conflict resolution - why must mediators learn so much about negotiation analysis to be successful? Come join us to find out!

Registration for this course is now full. To be added to the waitlist, please go here.