Bio
Dr. Elisabeth Sylvan’s lifelong interest is in sociotechnical systems that support creative acts, learning, and human flourishing. Thematically, her recent work focuses on emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Reality, particularly as these intersect with technological ethics, data empowerment, digital identity, making, and the formal and informal education sector and edtech sectors.
Dr. Sylvan's work has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Omidyar Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Mercator Foundation, and the Research Council of Norway, among others. She is a member of the World Economic Forum Digital Identity Initiative Impact Working Group, a member of the OECD Expert Stakeholders on Digital Identity Group, an associate editor of the Critical AI journal, and a reviewer for multiple conferences including Interaction Design for Children (IDC), International Conference on the Learning Sciences, Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, Creativity & Cognition, Internet Research (IR) conference, Computer Human Interaction (CHI), among others. She was also a fellow with International Society for Design and Development in Education (2011) and served on the advisory boards of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College, zSpace, and the Stanford d-school Build Lab. She is a longstanding member of BKC's Tech through Spec working group.
Dr. Sylvan’s M.S. and Ph.D. are from the MIT Media Lab where her work addressed how sociotechnical systems support shared knowledge and group action. There, Dr. Sylvan received fellowships from Highlands and Islands (of Scotland, 2005-2006) and Media Lab Europe (2003-2004.)
She is Visiting Associate Professor of Sociotechnical Systems at Olin College of Engineering where she teaches generative AI, collaborative design, and products and markets. She also serves in lecturer-type faculty roles in the School of Engineering at Brown University, the Department of Architecture and Design at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and School of Politics and Public Policy at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). At Brown, she is a member of the faculty of the joint Brown-RISD Masters of Arts in Design Engineering and teaches "Technology Entrepreneurship & Commercialization" in the Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship PRIME program. At RISD, she teaches "Designing with Emerging Technologies: Generative AI." At TUM she taught “Critical Thinking in the Time of Generative AI” and is a member of the Global Tech Policy Practice, an advisor to the AIEdtech Ethics project, and an expert in the Frontiers in Digital Child Safety Working Group.
From 2019-2024, Dr. Sylvan served in executive leadership at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, where her portfolio included being the direct manager of all senior staff, leading educational programs including the BKC Research Sprints and the Summer Institute, designing dialogue spaces for leading scholars, technologists, and decision-makers, developing technology ethics programs, and building capacity for technology ethics policy and practice across the globe. Her global contributions included co-leading the Policy Practice and the Co-designing Generative Futures initiative, representing BKC with both the Global Network of Internet & Society Centers and the International Network for Digital Self Determination, and advising national governments.
Before BKC, Dr. Sylvan was the Vice President of Education at The Tech Interactive in Silicon Valley, Maker in Residence at the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College, Fellow and Director of Learning and Community at Manylabs, and a Researcher Scientist and Project Director at the education R&D nonprofit, TERC.
Dr. Sylvan's work has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Omidyar Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Mercator Foundation, and the Research Council of Norway, among others. She is a member of the World Economic Forum Digital Identity Initiative Impact Working Group, a member of the OECD Expert Stakeholders on Digital Identity Group, an associate editor of the Critical AI journal, and a reviewer for multiple conferences including Interaction Design for Children (IDC), International Conference on the Learning Sciences, Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, Creativity & Cognition, Internet Research (IR) conference, Computer Human Interaction (CHI), among others. She was also a fellow with International Society for Design and Development in Education (2011) and served on the advisory boards of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College, zSpace, and the Stanford d-school Build Lab. She is a longstanding member of BKC's Tech through Spec working group.
Dr. Sylvan’s M.S. and Ph.D. are from the MIT Media Lab where her work addressed how sociotechnical systems support shared knowledge and group action. There, Dr. Sylvan received fellowships from Highlands and Islands (of Scotland, 2005-2006) and Media Lab Europe (2003-2004.)