Eric Gordon
Core Faculty, IGS; Professor of the Practice, Journalism and Director, Center for Media Innovation & Social Impact, College of Communication
Eric Gordon, core faculty with the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS), studies technology and public participation with a specific focus on the role of community-centered AI. He specializes in collaborative research and design processes, and has served as an expert advisor for local and national governments, as well as NGOs around the world, designing responsive processes for public participation.
He is specifically recognized for his work in civic games, designing games to foster democratic participation in the US, Egypt, Bhutan, Romania, and many other countries. He is the author of over 50 articles and chapters on media and urbanism, and the author of two books on the topic: The Urban Spectator (Dartmouth, 2010) and Net Locality (Blackwell, 2011). He is the co-editor of Civic Media: Technology, Design, Practice (MIT Press, 2016) and Ludics: Play as Humanistic Inquiry (Palgrave, 2021). His most recent monograph, Meaningful Inefficiencies: Civic Design in an Age of Digital Expediency (Oxford University Press, 2020) looks at collaborative design practices inside government and journalism organizations. His new research looks at how governments are using tech to be more responsive to constituents, and how that same tech can be used for control. His new book, How Institutions Listen: Civic Data, AI, and the Path to Public Trust, will be published by MIT Press in October 2026.
Pronouns: he/him