GETTING-Plurality operates within the Harvard Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics and in collaboration with the Harvard Kennedy School. The network's structure reflects Allen's commitment to cross-disciplinary collaboration on technology governance—a commitment rooted in her recognition that neither political theory alone nor computer science alone possesses the knowledge required to address the AI moment adequately. The network's researchers include economists, philosophers, technologists, and policy scholars.
The network's work spans several registers. At the theoretical level, it develops the conceptual framework of the plurality paradigm—the alternative to centralized AI development that treats intelligence as social and relational. At the empirical level, it conducts studies of AI system behavior, including the 'Crocodile Tears' working paper on the moral reasoning of large language models. At the policy level, it produces specific institutional proposals through outputs like the 2025 Roadmap. At the public engagement level, it connects researchers with policymakers, technologists, and civil society organizations working on AI governance.
The network's name reflects its intellectual commitments. 'Plurality' signals the alternative to singularity-oriented AI development. 'Grounded' signals the commitment to empirical investigation of how AI systems actually behave. 'Intelligent, Networked' signals the recognition that AI governance requires both technical understanding and institutional imagination. 'Getting' signals the active, ongoing character of the work—the refusal to treat technology governance as a settled domain with established methods.
GETTING-Plurality is one node in a broader international network of researchers and institutions working on democratic governance of AI, including Weyl's RadicalxChange foundation, Tang's work in Taiwan, the Centre for the Governance of AI at Oxford, and various national research initiatives in Europe and elsewhere. Allen's leadership of the network has established Harvard as a central institution in this international conversation.
GETTING-Plurality was established under Allen's leadership at Harvard in the early 2020s, building on her prior work at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics and her collaborative relationships with Weyl, Crawford, and other researchers on technology and democracy.
Constitutional moment. The network's foundational premise is that AI development has brought society to a moment requiring foundational institutional design.
Cross-disciplinary collaboration. AI governance requires the integration of political theory, economics, technology studies, and computer science.
Plurality paradigm. The network's theoretical framework rejects centralized AI development in favor of distributed, augmentation-focused approaches.
Empirical grounding. The network conducts studies of AI system behavior to inform governance proposals.
Policy translation. Theoretical work is translated into specific institutional proposals like the 2025 Roadmap for Governing AI.