Academic center · Policy · Cornell Tech, New York · Est. 2017
Cornell Digital Life Initiative (DLI) is an academic research and convening program at Cornell Tech (Roosevelt Island, New York City) focused on societal perspectives on digital technology—particularly ethics, policy, politics, and quality of life. DLI frames digital systems as “socio-technical systems” and supports collaborative research that connects technical work with normative questions about justice, democracy, privacy, responsibility, security, and freedom.
The initiative also operates a public-facing Digital Life Seminar series, a research-and-publication pipeline via “Reflections” posts, and an outreach mechanism through the weekly Good Code podcast. Structurally, DLI centers faculty direction (Helen Nissenbaum) while also hosting a dedicated law-and-technology research lab component under the CTRL-ALT program. This lab treats law and computer science as equally important disciplines for studying what happens when legal codes meet machine code, emphasizing areas such as platform governance and content moderation and embedding rule-of-law values into computer systems. Through visiting fellowships and postdoctoral fellowships, DLI brings in researchers across disciplines (including law, computer/information science, and social sciences) to carry forward its ethics- and policy-oriented agenda.
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By Erica Chiang (Cornell Tech).
The Road to Hell Is Paved with Helpful AgentsBy Rishi D. Jha (Cornell Tech).
Towards Secure and Trustworthy Human-Centered Wireless SensingBy Tanvir Ahmed (Cornell Tech).
Can Oral History and Auto-autobiography Have a Candid Conversation?By Stephen Mucher (Sondage).
Too Much Annotated Data is Bad. What Can We Do About It?By Emma Harvey (Cornell Tech).
AI-Generated Content, Online Platforms, and the Fight for Authenticity: Who Loses When Content Production Requires Less Effort?By Travis Lloyd (Cornell Tech).
Algorithmic Conformity and the Limits of Human-in-the-LoopBy Yotam Liel (Cornell Tech).
Are Large Language Models Manipulating Us? An Analysis Based on Susser, Roessler, & Nissenbaum (2019)By Sterling Williams-Ceci (Cornell Tech).
Digital Eyes on the StreetBy Matt Franchi (Cornell Tech).
Rethinking Optimization: A Call for A Broader PerspectiveBy Pegah Nokhiz (Cornell Tech).
The Game of Accessibility: Usable Versus PlayableBy Jazmin Collins (Cornell Tech).
Data Subsidization for AI Training and Global Data Protection InequalitiesBy Noa Mor (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Eran Toch (Tel Aviv University).
A DLI “Critical Reflections” post by Emma Harvey discussing issues with data annotation quality in AI reliability and advocating for measurement-theory approaches to improve annotation processes.
AI-Generated Content, Online Platforms, and the Fight for Authenticity: Who Loses When Content Production Requires Less Effort?A DLI “Critical Reflections” post by Travis Lloyd examining how AI-generated content affects platform governance and content authenticity, focusing on moderators and recording musicians.
Algorithmic Conformity and the Limits of Human-in-the-LoopA DLI “Critical Reflections” post describing research on whether people can remain appropriately critical of AI advice, highlighting sociotechnical pressures and a testing approach.
Fall 2026 Digital Life Seminar series schedule posted (Sep–Dec 2026)DLI published its Digital Life Seminar series schedule for Fall 2026, including announced seminar sessions and convenors.
DLI Technology Law & Policy Fellowship application page (describes program responsibilities and scope)An opportunities page describing the Tech Law Fellow role, including responsibilities such as drafting amicus briefs, filing agency comments, reviewing legislation, briefing policymakers, producing white papers, and communicating with the public and media.