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Designing tools, methods and systems that connect rather than divide us to create a healthier society.
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Hearing the humanity in others through trustworthy communication channels is necessary for democracies, communities, and institutions to function.

Informed by years of social media and media analytics, CCC’s work combines the ancient wisdoms of human conversation with emerging digital technologies to promote shared understanding and trust rather than reinforcing the “side-taking” and binary thinking that too often divides us. Based at the MIT Media Lab and working closely with the non-profit Cortico, CCC brings together researchers in AI, computational social science, digital interactive design, and learning technologies with software engineers, journalists, political scientists, designers, and community organizations.

Learn more

What’s New

|

CCC launches a inaugural student advisory board
These seven undergraduate MIT students will be among those advising CCC on its research areas and programs.

MIT CCC is launching a student advisory board to help shape its ongoing research as well as student programming via realtalk@MIT. This group of undergraduates will contribute to the development of student-facing initiatives, provide input on outreach efforts, and help create environments where their peers feel comfortable engaging in deep and honest conversation.

News

03.20.2025 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication
Read more >

Introducing the Bridging Dictionary
Could seeing how opposite sides of the US political spectrum use the same words differently be a first step toward greater cross-political understanding?

On January 7, CCC launched the Bridging Dictionary (BD), an interactive web-based prototype that uses natural language processing to identify the different ways two media outlets – foxnews.com on the right and msnbc.com on the left – assign different meanings to the same words and phrases, and then attempts to suggest less polarized (bridging) alternatives.

News

12.06.2024 | Andrew Heyward
Read more >

CCC and DemNext take the first step towards developing a more transparent, inclusive democratic process
By audio recording and analyzing the entirety of the citizens’ assembly process, researchers make strides in understanding what drives effective deliberation

In a landmark achievement, MIT CCC and DemocracyNext have collaborated on the first-of-its-kind, tech-enhanced citizens’ assembly in Deschutes County, Oregon. 12,750 invitation letters were mailed to residents across Central Oregon. Of the respondents, 30 delegates were chosen via sortition (lottery), to be broadly representative of the area.

News

12.11.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication
Read more >

PBS’s FRONTLINE, Cortico, and CCC to engage youth in new Youth Civic Voices initiative
A new collaboration with the MIT Center for Constructive Communication empowers young people to shape the future of journalism and civic dialogue through AI and storytelling.

FRONTLINE, the acclaimed PBS documentary series produced at GBH in Boston, has announced the launch of a two-phase Youth Civic Voices Initiative designed to engage young people in civic dialogue through journalistic storytelling, emerging technologies, and public conversation.

News

04.30.2025 | MIT Media Lab
Read more >

CCC hosts its second Tech-Enhanced Student Assembly
MIT undergraduates use a Citizens’ Assembly format to draw on their individual values and experiences to offer options for improved sustainability efforts on the MIT campus

MIT undergraduates use a Citizens’ Assembly format to draw on their individual values and experiences to offer options for improved sustainability efforts on the MIT campus

News

03.31.2025 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication
Read more >

CCC launches a inaugural student advisory board
These seven undergraduate MIT students will be among those advising CCC on its research areas and programs.

MIT CCC is launching a student advisory board to help shape its ongoing research as well as student programming via realtalk@MIT. This group of undergraduates will contribute to the development of student-facing initiatives, provide input on outreach efforts, and help create environments where their peers feel comfortable engaging in deep and honest conversation.

News

03.20.2025 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication
Read more >

Introducing the Bridging Dictionary
Could seeing how opposite sides of the US political spectrum use the same words differently be a first step toward greater cross-political understanding?

On January 7, CCC launched the Bridging Dictionary (BD), an interactive web-based prototype that uses natural language processing to identify the different ways two media outlets – foxnews.com on the right and msnbc.com on the left – assign different meanings to the same words and phrases, and then attempts to suggest less polarized (bridging) alternatives.

News

12.06.2024 | Andrew Heyward
Read more >

CCC and DemNext take the first step towards developing a more transparent, inclusive democratic process
By audio recording and analyzing the entirety of the citizens’ assembly process, researchers make strides in understanding what drives effective deliberation

In a landmark achievement, MIT CCC and DemocracyNext have collaborated on the first-of-its-kind, tech-enhanced citizens’ assembly in Deschutes County, Oregon. 12,750 invitation letters were mailed to residents across Central Oregon. Of the respondents, 30 delegates were chosen via sortition (lottery), to be broadly representative of the area.

News

12.11.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication
Read more >

PBS’s FRONTLINE, Cortico, and CCC to engage youth in new Youth Civic Voices initiative
A new collaboration with the MIT Center for Constructive Communication empowers young people to shape the future of journalism and civic dialogue through AI and storytelling.

FRONTLINE, the acclaimed PBS documentary series produced at GBH in Boston, has announced the launch of a two-phase Youth Civic Voices Initiative designed to engage young people in civic dialogue through journalistic storytelling, emerging technologies, and public conversation.

News

04.30.2025 | MIT Media Lab
Read more >

CCC hosts its second Tech-Enhanced Student Assembly
MIT undergraduates use a Citizens’ Assembly format to draw on their individual values and experiences to offer options for improved sustainability efforts on the MIT campus

MIT undergraduates use a Citizens’ Assembly format to draw on their individual values and experiences to offer options for improved sustainability efforts on the MIT campus

News

03.31.2025 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication
Read more >

CCC launches a inaugural student advisory board
These seven undergraduate MIT students will be among those advising CCC on its research areas and programs.

MIT CCC is launching a student advisory board to help shape its ongoing research as well as student programming via realtalk@MIT. This group of undergraduates will contribute to the development of student-facing initiatives, provide input on outreach efforts, and help create environments where their peers feel comfortable engaging in deep and honest conversation.

News

03.20.2025 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication
Read more >

All News

Second annual CCC in-person event: Trust and Human Connection in the Age of Social Networks and AI

On May 7, 2024 more than 150 attendees, including many from CCC’s closely affiliated non-profit, Cortico, spent a full day at MIT engaging in conversation and explorati…

News

07.30.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

Deb Roy’s Atlantic article proposes healthy social networks

In The Atlantic, CCC Director Deb Roy writes about the very real threat today’s social media platforms pose to our democracy, and presents a far less toxic alternative:…

News

10.17.2023 | The Atlantic

MIT CCC graduate students and research staff present at the 10th International Conference for Computational Social Science (IC2S2)

CCC graduate students Belén Saldías, Hope Schroeder, Elinor Poole-Dayan, Will Brannon, Hang Jiang, and CCC research engineer Doug Beeferman, presented at the 10th Inter…

News

Research

07.25.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

How to Tackle Truth Decay | The Atlantic | Deb Roy

The next stage of truth decay is that those who no longer trust the scientists and technocrats search for alternative sources of information, “truth” from outside the…

News

03.03.2024 | The Atlantic

CCC and DemocracyNext hosted the First-Ever Tech-Enhanced Student Assembly

The MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) and the non-profit DemocracyNext came together to design and implement the first tech-enhanced and student-focused ver…

News

02.01.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

CCC and DemocracyNext Announce Tech-Enhanced Pop-Up Lab to Advance Citizens’ Assemblies

In an era of technological transformation in which social media and generative AI are disrupting our processes of communication and democracy, the MIT Center for Construc…

News

12.15.2023 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

CCC’s RealTalk@MIT Part of Campus-Wide Efforts to Encourage Civil Discourse

MIT Chancellor Melissa Nobel notes CCC’s RealTalk@MIT efforts as part of the Institute’s response to addressing antisemitism and Islamophobia through MIT’s new “Standing…

News

12.04.2023 | MIT News

Big Tech’s Effect on Democracy | Democracy360

The relationship between technology and democracy has become increasingly complex from the proliferation of social media to recent advances in AI. Kara Swisher moderates…

News

10.19.2023 | Democracy 360

MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s Work Featured on Night Owls Podcast

MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) and its nonprofit collaborator Cortico are at the forefront of using technology and dialogue to foster deeper connections…

News

01.06.2025 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

Study: Some language reward models exhibit political bias

Large language models (LLMs) that drive generative artificial intelligence apps, such as ChatGPT, have been proliferating at lightning speed and have improved to the poin…

News

12.12.2024 | MIT News

CCC and DemNext take the first step towards developing a more transparent, inclusive democratic process

In a landmark achievement, MIT CCC and DemocracyNext have collaborated on the first-of-its-kind, tech-enhanced citizens’ assembly in Deschutes County, Oregon. 12,750 in…

News

12.11.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

CCC and FRONTLINE launched a listening experiment to build a social dialogue network with youth

In collaboration with FRONTLINE, the PBS documentary series produced at GBH in Boston, the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) has been exploring how small g…

News

10.09.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

realtalk@MIT: Using AI to bring human conversation to life

In today’s digital age, words and information are everywhere—flooding our feeds, congesting our inboxes, and pinging us with text messages. Yet, written words can nev…

News

11.21.2024 | The Tech

CCC launched realtalk@MIT for incoming students to connect, learn, and share their experiences

In August, CCC trained over 70 students to effectively facilitate small-group conversations, also recording and highlighting many of these conversations on the newly deve…

News

09.19.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

CCC gathered local community-based organizations to explore: How might we transform Boston into Listening City?

The MIT Center for Constructive Communication, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is growing a network of local key stakeholders that will invite membe…

News

Translational research

05.30.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

Second annual CCC in-person event: Trust and Human Connection in the Age of Social Networks and AI

On May 7, 2024 more than 150 attendees, including many from CCC’s closely affiliated non-profit, Cortico, spent a full day at MIT engaging in conversation and explorati…

News

07.30.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

Deb Roy’s Atlantic article proposes healthy social networks

In The Atlantic, CCC Director Deb Roy writes about the very real threat today’s social media platforms pose to our democracy, and presents a far less toxic alternative:…

News

10.17.2023 | The Atlantic

MIT CCC graduate students and research staff present at the 10th International Conference for Computational Social Science (IC2S2)

CCC graduate students Belén Saldías, Hope Schroeder, Elinor Poole-Dayan, Will Brannon, Hang Jiang, and CCC research engineer Doug Beeferman, presented at the 10th Inter…

News

Research

07.25.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

How to Tackle Truth Decay | The Atlantic | Deb Roy

The next stage of truth decay is that those who no longer trust the scientists and technocrats search for alternative sources of information, “truth” from outside the…

News

03.03.2024 | The Atlantic

CCC and DemocracyNext hosted the First-Ever Tech-Enhanced Student Assembly

The MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) and the non-profit DemocracyNext came together to design and implement the first tech-enhanced and student-focused ver…

News

02.01.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

CCC and DemocracyNext Announce Tech-Enhanced Pop-Up Lab to Advance Citizens’ Assemblies

In an era of technological transformation in which social media and generative AI are disrupting our processes of communication and democracy, the MIT Center for Construc…

News

12.15.2023 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

CCC’s RealTalk@MIT Part of Campus-Wide Efforts to Encourage Civil Discourse

MIT Chancellor Melissa Nobel notes CCC’s RealTalk@MIT efforts as part of the Institute’s response to addressing antisemitism and Islamophobia through MIT’s new “Standing…

News

12.04.2023 | MIT News

Big Tech’s Effect on Democracy | Democracy360

The relationship between technology and democracy has become increasingly complex from the proliferation of social media to recent advances in AI. Kara Swisher moderates…

News

10.19.2023 | Democracy 360

MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s Work Featured on Night Owls Podcast

MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) and its nonprofit collaborator Cortico are at the forefront of using technology and dialogue to foster deeper connections…

News

01.06.2025 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

Study: Some language reward models exhibit political bias

Large language models (LLMs) that drive generative artificial intelligence apps, such as ChatGPT, have been proliferating at lightning speed and have improved to the poin…

News

12.12.2024 | MIT News

CCC and DemNext take the first step towards developing a more transparent, inclusive democratic process

In a landmark achievement, MIT CCC and DemocracyNext have collaborated on the first-of-its-kind, tech-enhanced citizens’ assembly in Deschutes County, Oregon. 12,750 in…

News

12.11.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

CCC and FRONTLINE launched a listening experiment to build a social dialogue network with youth

In collaboration with FRONTLINE, the PBS documentary series produced at GBH in Boston, the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) has been exploring how small g…

News

10.09.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

realtalk@MIT: Using AI to bring human conversation to life

In today’s digital age, words and information are everywhere—flooding our feeds, congesting our inboxes, and pinging us with text messages. Yet, written words can nev…

News

11.21.2024 | The Tech

CCC launched realtalk@MIT for incoming students to connect, learn, and share their experiences

In August, CCC trained over 70 students to effectively facilitate small-group conversations, also recording and highlighting many of these conversations on the newly deve…

News

09.19.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

CCC gathered local community-based organizations to explore: How might we transform Boston into Listening City?

The MIT Center for Constructive Communication, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is growing a network of local key stakeholders that will invite membe…

News

Translational research

05.30.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

Second annual CCC in-person event: Trust and Human Connection in the Age of Social Networks and AI

On May 7, 2024 more than 150 attendees, including many from CCC’s closely affiliated non-profit, Cortico, spent a full day at MIT engaging in conversation and explorati…

News

07.30.2024 | MIT Center for Constructive Communication

Opportunities

View all

Prototype Engineer
Posted on 04.18.2025

We are seeking a motivated Prototype Engineer to help design and implement cutting-edge, experimental prototypes to support the MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s research.

Opportunity

Posted on 04.18.2025
Read more >

Prototype Engineer
Posted on 04.18.2025

We are seeking a motivated Prototype Engineer to help design and implement cutting-edge, experimental prototypes to support the MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s research.

Opportunity

Posted on 04.18.2025
Read more >

Prototype Engineer
Posted on 04.18.2025

We are seeking a motivated Prototype Engineer to help design and implement cutting-edge, experimental prototypes to support the MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s research.

Opportunity

Posted on 04.18.2025
Read more >

Prototype Engineer
Posted on 04.18.2025

We are seeking a motivated Prototype Engineer to help design and implement cutting-edge, experimental prototypes to support the MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s research.

Opportunity

Posted on 04.18.2025
Read more >

Prototype Engineer
Posted on 04.18.2025

We are seeking a motivated Prototype Engineer to help design and implement cutting-edge, experimental prototypes to support the MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s research.

Opportunity

Posted on 04.18.2025
Read more >

Recent Projects

All Projects

Bridging Dictionary

Exploring LLM capabilities to explain concepts/definitions to various audiences

Project

Bridging Language, LLMs for Community Characterization

Data Provenance for AI

A massive audit of 1800+ AI text datasets, tracing their provenance and composition from origin to creation.

Project

Data Provenance

Analogia

A story-telling card game generated from community data which helps make speaking personally and emotionally easy and fun

Project

Game Design, Generative AI, Dialogue Technologies

CCC at MIT-Chile

In January 2023, CCC PhD Candidates Belén Saldías and Maggie Hughes hosted several workshops on Human-Centered Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Data Visua…

Project

Affective polarization

Characterizing affective polarization on Twitter and Reddit – how it has evolved over time and which topics incite more polarized responses.

Project

Affective Polarization

Conversation Flowers

Exploring conversation health and dynamics using natural language processing and data visualization

Project

Conversation Visualization, Conversation Health

Tolerance Lab

Exploring the ways in which we respond differently to statements of opinion and statements of experience.

Project

Discourse Studied, Survey Experimentation

Bridging Dictionary

Exploring LLM capabilities to explain concepts/definitions to various audiences

Project

Bridging Language, LLMs for Community Characterization

Data Provenance for AI

A massive audit of 1800+ AI text datasets, tracing their provenance and composition from origin to creation.

Project

Data Provenance

Analogia

A story-telling card game generated from community data which helps make speaking personally and emotionally easy and fun

Project

Game Design, Generative AI, Dialogue Technologies

CCC at MIT-Chile

In January 2023, CCC PhD Candidates Belén Saldías and Maggie Hughes hosted several workshops on Human-Centered Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Data Visua…

Project

Affective polarization

Characterizing affective polarization on Twitter and Reddit – how it has evolved over time and which topics incite more polarized responses.

Project

Affective Polarization

Conversation Flowers

Exploring conversation health and dynamics using natural language processing and data visualization

Project

Conversation Visualization, Conversation Health

Tolerance Lab

Exploring the ways in which we respond differently to statements of opinion and statements of experience.

Project

Discourse Studied, Survey Experimentation

Bridging Dictionary

Exploring LLM capabilities to explain concepts/definitions to various audiences

Project

Bridging Language, LLMs for Community Characterization
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