Lawrence Lessig Keynote Speaker

The Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School
Emeritus member of the board, Creative Commons
Member of the board, AXA Research Fund

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Lawrence Lessig's Biography

Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, is a pioneering figure in digital law and democratic reform. His education spans multiple disciplines, with a BA in economics and BS in management from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in philosophy from Cambridge, and a JD from Yale. His early career included prestigious clerkships with Judge Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court.

Before returning to Harvard, where he served as Berkman Professor of Law until 2000, Lessig taught at Stanford Law School, where he founded the school’s Center for Internet and Society, and at the University of Chicago.

Lessig’s early work laid crucial groundwork for internet law, particularly regarding shared copyrighted content. His innovative thinking has earned numerous accolades and recognition from key business and political figures. He was named one of Scientific American’s Top 50 Visionaries in 2002 and received the Fastcase 50 Award, recognizing the legal field’s most innovative figures. He serves on the Board of the AXA Research Fund, is an Emeritus member of the board at Creative Commons, and holds membership in both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Association.

His influence extends to the TED platform, where his three main stage presentations have each surpassed one million online views. His speaking style, characterized by personal, non-partisan content, consistently delivers comprehensive insights that resonate with audiences across topics.

What AI is doing to America’s Democracy — and Democracy

In this lecture, Professor Lessig will discuss the impact of AI on democracy. Reflecting on the 2024 election, and previewing the argument in his forthcoming book, the talk describes the threats to democracy, and the way democracy can respond.

Suing the Times

This talk is grounded in a lawsuit Lessig was driven to bring against the New York Times for "clickbait defamation," but reflects more generally on how the engagement business model for social media has radically changed modern American media and its political culture. If our poisoned politics is the byproduct of a Silicon Valley business model, how can we repair it?

Code at 25

Twenty-five years ago, Lessig published CODE AND OTHER LAWS OF CYBERSPACE, which framed the slogan, "code is law," and grounded a critical approach to Internet regulation. In this talk, Lessig reflects on what we've learned about this understanding of the Internet, and the future of regulation.

How SuperPACs Will End

In November 2024, by a 3 to 1 margin, voters in Maine approved an initiative that challenges SuperPACs. In this talk, Lessig describes why, contrary to the view of most, this United States Supreme Court will uphold limits on contributions to SuperPACs. When it does, that change will trigger a new movement to reform the influence of money in politics, giving America the chance to restore at least some confidence in its government.