Cass Sunstein

While polarization is an age-old problem, managing and governing people in the 21st century has been complicated by increasingly divisive rhetoric within online and in-person groups, creating damaging political and social divisions in every corner of the world. Business and government leaders looking for successful ways to bridge those divides will find Harvard Law School professor Cass Sunstein’s insights invaluable. In this presentation, he shares the results of experiments he’s conducted, which explain why such divides exist. He then outlines methods leaders can employ to promote unity, understanding and, ultimately, a successful way forward to solve common problems and reach common goals.

Have you ever noticed that what is thrilling on Monday tends to become boring on Friday? Even exciting events and objects lose their sparkle after a while. People stop noticing what is most wonderful in their own lives, and they also stop noticing what is terrible – they get used to dirty air, stay in unhealthy relationships, grow to accept authoritarianism and take foolish risks. But, asks Harvard Law professor Cass Sunstein, what if we could find a way to see everything anew and regain sensitivity, not only to the great things in your life, but also to the terrible things you stopped noticing and so you don’t try to change? In a groundbreaking study, encapsulated in his book “Look Again,” Sunstein and his co-author investigate why we stop noticing both the great and not-so-great things around us and how to “dishabituate” at the office, in the bedroom, at the store, on social media and in the voting booth. Based on decades of research in the psychological and biological sciences, he illuminates how to refresh your perspective, allowing you to more clearly identify the bad, and more deeply appreciate the good.

Human beings are sometimes “biased,” in the sense that they make systemic mistakes (for example, they might show “optimistic bias”). In addition, human beings are sometimes “noisy,” in the sense that they show unwanted variability (perhaps making different decisions in the morning and the afternoon). The best solution to both noise and bias, says Harvard Law School professor Cass Sunstein, comes from “decision hygiene,” which can include the use of formal models and algorithms. In this presentation based on his award-winning book “Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement” (2021), Sunstein illuminates concrete ways to reduce or even eliminate widespread “algorithm aversion.”

Generative AI has led to the definition of “sentience” becoming more of a question than a statement. If AI tools can “think,” should they have rights? No more than your toaster should have rights, says Harvard Law professor Cass Sunstein, a prominent legal scholar and well-known authority on the U.S. Constitution. Funny and engaging, Sunstein uses accessible metaphors and pop culture references to illustrate what generative AI is, how it works and why, even though it seems humanlike in its interactions, it doesn’t deserve any more rights than a blanket on a bed. Sunstein brings organizations thought-provoking questions that encourage deeper thinking about how to engage with AI technology, no matter how quickly it advances.