Systems, Security, and Public Life

Course description

This class explores two connected questions: how the design of computer systems interacts with law, governance, and public life; and how people with technical knowledge can use that knowledge to shape public life in return.

Students will study cases in which implementation details matter for social and policy outcomes, with possible topics including privacy and surveillance, cybersecurity, AI, online platforms, and internet infrastructure.

Through both technical and policy readings students will learn to analyze public debates about computing with nuance (that is so often missing) and to propose real interventions of their own.

Class Content

The class will introduce students to the basics of American civics needed to understand the intersection of technology and public policy, and how political offices and policy development works. We'll likely touch on international dynamics as well, without extensive coverage of other political systems.

We'll also talk about what the unique contributions of computer science to policy development can be, and how to design experiments and interventions that matter (and where some attempts fail).

Finally, we also need to cover some substantive topics, which at this point are very much up in the air, but we'll likely touch on one or more of the topics below.

Sample substantive topics

We will probably draw topics from whatever is most salient and interesting closer to semester, but some potential ideas include:

• Privacy, surveillance, and Cryptography Policy
• Age Verification and Adversarial Testing
• Antitrust Law, the Design of Search Engines, and AI answers
• Decentralized Systems and Sanctions

Final Project

The course is planned to culminate in a public contribution to a live policy issue. Appropriate formats may include a formal public comment or regulatory submission, a *published* whitepaper, delivered briefing to an elected representative's office, or another instructor-approved intervention.