About Us
Data & Society believes that technology policy must be grounded in research, account for tech’s real-world impacts, and serve the public. We’re working toward a future where people, not technology, come first.
Our Mission
Data & Society is an independent nonprofit research and policy institute. We study the social, political, and economic implications of data-centric technologies, automation, and AI, and use that knowledge to inform and shape policy from the ground up.
A Future Where People Come Before Technology
We are working to build a future where technology is governed in the public interest and used to support people and communities, rather than driving surveillance, control, and oppression. Technological innovation must not come at the expense of people and communities. It should serve the public.
What We Do
Research
Our research offers evidence to counter the notion that technology is the best or only solution to the host of societal challenges we face.
Policy and engagement
Our policy and engagement work applies and amplifies our research findings.
Network
We collaborate with a growing, international network to drive the change needed for a more inclusive and accountable technological future.
Our Impact
Our work deliberately centers people, communities, and the environment over technological determinism. Together with our network, we drive the change needed to realize a more inclusive and accountable technological future.
Our Values
Independence
Intellectual independence enables us to select our projects, choose methodologies, and make publishing decisions based solely on our analysis of the issues at hand, without political or financial influence. We never accept funding that would compromise the independence or rigor of our work.
Integrity
We build trust and accountability through our commitment to the independence and autonomy of our research, our transparent funding relationships and mutually shared organizational practices, and our inclusive outreach to a wide range of communities and individuals.
Equity
Out of a fundamental respect for diversity and a desire to challenge power relations in data-centric fields, we recognize and embrace differences among us. This requires equitable hiring and retention, centering community experiences in our research, and adhering to the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in everything we do.
Mutuality
We value reciprocal relationships — not only with other institutions but with the people and communities affected by data-centric technologies. We cultivate respect and mutual responsibility by appreciating our distinct and complementary strengths, actively listening to each other, and striving to understand our shared goals and differences, while being mindful of unequal power dynamics.
Creativity
We support interdisciplinary work and deeply value creative expression. Externally, this means supporting original thinking that challenges dominant narratives and engages multiple audiences. Internally, we enable risk-taking research and explore thoughtful engagements.
Digital Land Acknowledgement
Data & Society began in New York City, an island in a network of hills and rivers in the coastal Atlantic Northeast known as Lenapehoking, the ancestral land of the Lenape people. Today, we are connected online via a different system: a vast array of servers, cables, and computer devices maintained by human actors. In the United States, much of this infrastructure sits on stolen land acquired under the extractive logic of white settler expansion. As an organization, we recognize this history and uplift the sovereignty of Indigenous people, data, and territory. We commit, beyond symbolic rhetoric, to dismantling all ongoing settler-colonial practices and their material implications on our digital worlds. Our website runs on servers located on Turtle Island. To learn whose land you are on, visit https://native-land.ca/.
This land acknowledgement was created during a participatory workshop in June 2020 with Data & Society staff members.