Latest News and Events
Whose AI Order? AI Adoption in a Fragmented World
Artificial intelligence is spreading just as geopolitical competition intensifies, yet most accounts of how the world adapts to AI pay little attention to how that competition sets the terms of adoption. Export controls, splintering governance standards, the divide between open-weight and closed frontier models., and uneven access to compute and cloud infrastructure increasingly determine which AI systems countries can use, on what terms, and how dependent they remain on others' rules and platforms. This panel launches... More
Applications Now Being Accepted for 2027 Graduate Summer Fellows Program
2027 Graduate Summer Fellows Program About the Program The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future invites Boston University graduate students to apply for its 2027 Graduate Summer Fellows Program, an intensive, interdisciplinary research and writing fellowship focused on the longer-range future of global human development. The 10-week program (June 1 - July 30, 2027) fosters intellectual growth and collaboration through interaction with Pardee Center-affiliated faculty and fellow researchers. Fellows conduct independent research, More
Urban Innovations from Latin America
Latin American cities are among the most violent and unequal in the world. This double threat underlies the rise of innovative urban initiatives seeking to redress both in and through the urban landscape—aerial cable cars to connect impoverished hilly margins and city centers; care blocks to make basic services accessible to disenfranchised caregivers; pocket parks to build public space in autoconstructed communities where there was none; participatory systems for residents to decide on budgets, public... More
Fall Welcome Reception
Join us on Wednesday, October 14th from 4-6pm for the Pardee Center's 2026 Fall Welcome Reception! Bring the new academic year into focus as we gather with Pardee Center colleagues, students, faculty, staff, and friends for an afternoon of conversation, community, and refreshments. The reception will also feature Lightning Talks from our 2026 Graduate Summer Fellows who will share highlights from their summer research in a series of engaging presentations. Come learn about the diverse topics... More
M-Pesa: From Fintech Inventor to the Status Quo
Join the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and the Global Development Policy Center for a seminar examining the evolution of M-Pesa from the pioneer fintech leader into a rigid status quo defined by market dominance and institutional hubris. We'll review the platform's transition into a bureaucratic incumbent and government-aligned gatekeeper, utilizing its position for economic rent extraction while acting as a systemic bottleneck that is slow to adopt consumer-facing technologies. The... More