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The James H. and Mary B. Quello Center focuses on research that stimulates and informs public debate on communication, information, and media policy. Our work often challenges assumptions about the role of technology, policy and regulation for citizens, communities, and society. It aims to realize the benefits of advanced communications in the digital age while mitigating its negative effects. Quello Center researchers collaborate across Michigan State University, with other centers of excellence, and with stakeholders to advance the political, social and economic potential of the Internet and related technologies and services. Current research addresses broadband policy, digital inclusion, platform regulation, next-generation networks (5G, Internet of Things), and data ethics.

Talk: (Re)Working AI: Designing Workplace Technologies with and for Labor

On April 18, 2025 at 10 AM EDT, we hosted a talk on (Re)Working AI: Designing Workplace Technologies with and for Labor with Sarah Fox, Human Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

Sarah Fox, Carnegie Mellon University

Sarah Fox, Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract: Work is transforming rapidly. While some might suggest labor is in a perpetual state of change, the accelerated development and deployment of artificially intelligent (AI) systems within workplaces is set to reshape the livelihoods of millions of workers across industries for decades to come. Though proponents see potential in automation as a means to rid work of monotony and boost productivity, many workers and worker advocates view AI as an existential threat to “good jobs” or those that provide meaningful employment, adequate pay, and necessary health benefits. This disconnect is rooted in a fundamental distance between those whose interests are prioritized in the development process and those who end up using the technology. Although the fields of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) and human-computer interaction (HCI) have a legacy of exploring methods of promoting worker participation in the design of particular workplace systems, less is understood about how participatory research approaches could be applied across the technology lifecycle to increase value for those on the frontlines. In this talk, Fox will outline the concept of “worker-centered design,” an approach that emphasizes the well-being and input of employees, aiming to enhance not only productivity but also cooperation, autonomy, and fulfillment. Drawing on ongoing ethnographic and design research, she will discuss two distinct cases in sectors facing different forms of technological change: 1) public transportation, for which autonomous vehicle technologies are being developed; and 2) hospitality, which regularly employs algorithmic management. Across these sites, Fox describes labor-aligned efforts to evaluate the impacts of AI technologies on work practices and to develop methods and tools to ensure that working people have a voice in the creation, integration, and governance of technologies in their workplaces.

More information HERE

Online: Full Stack AI Governance

Robert Gorwa, WZB Berlin Social Science Center

Michael Veale, University College London

April 14, 2025 at 12 PM EDT, we hosted a talk on Full Stack AI Governance with Robert Gorwa, WZB Berlin Social Science Center and Michael Veale, University College London.

Every time someone trains, deploys, or queries an ‘artificial intelligence’ system, whether they know it or not, they are implicating the practices and services of an enormous number of interlinked businesses in the AI ‘stack’.  In this talk, Robert Gorwa and Michael Veale will present early findings from their ongoing book project on emerging public-private regulatory practices emerging across this stack, focusing on what does, could, and should be done to prevent very real emergent forms of AI misuse. As more obligations and responsibilities are foisted on or taken up by the various intermediaries that facilitate access to AI systems (e.g. cloud providers, model hosts, internet infrastructure providers), the talk will introduce some of the extremely tricky tensions relating to technological control, generativity, analytic capacity, and privacy that lay ahead.

 

 

 

Webinar: Digital Sovereignty and the Open Internet: Can they Coexist?

On April 4, 2025, the Internet Governance Project (IGP) in collaboration with the Quello Center gathered scholars of differing views to debate what digital sovereignty means, how it is being used as a label, and whether the various interpretations of the term are compatible with the foundational values of the open internet.

The five panelists engaged in a spirited and controversial debate. If you missed it, please check out the video at: https://youtu.be/e-y1Iz7eXVE?si=JuiLVwySnlFuBdz5.

New Quello Center Report: Assessing the Effects of Broadband Policy on High-Speed Internet Access, Digital Equity, and Community Development

East Lansing, October 25, 2024

Cover of the reportView/download the report

Supported by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts Broadband Access Initiative, this report develops a framework for the assessment of the effects of the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act of 2021 on high-speed Internet access, digital equity, and community development. With the funding authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 2021 (Infrastructure Act), the federal government, states, and communities will have a window of opportunity to close digital connectivity gaps improve digital equity, and to transform communities. The scale and diversity of current federal, state, and local policy initiatives creates a needs transparency and accountability to assure the responsible use of public funds.

Even though the Infrastructure Act and NTIA implementation guidelines supply an integrative framework, states and territories have developed varying models to meet their specific needs. Given the many challenges of such a large-scale effort, it is to be expected that some will be more effective than others. If properly monitored and evaluated, these variations can be translated into knowledge that can help improve all programs for the remaining duration of the program. The first report from the project, released today, develops principles to ease the burden on eligible entities of meeting their statutory reporting requirements and to guide data collection, program monitoring, and impact evaluation going forward.

For more information see quello.msu.edu/iija-assessment

MSU, Merit Network and Quello Center Celebrate Completion of Project MOON-Light

From Left to Right- Johannes Bauer, MSU Professor
Charlotte Bewersdorff, VP Community Engagement, Merit Network
Roger Blake, CEO, Merit Network
Kevin Guskiewicz, MSU President
Keith Hampton, Director of Academic Research, Quello Center

𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: Tuesday, September 10, 2024

After two years, Project MOON-Light, a network-wide, significant upgrade of Michigan’s middle mile Internet infrastructure, was completed. MOON-Light is a collaboration between Michigan State University, Merit Network, and the Quello Center. It was supported in part by a grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Infrastructure Program. The enhanced middle mile capabilities will enable local internet service providers to connect residents and businesses in unserved areas of the state and improve the quality of service to areas that are currently served by lower access speed and quality of service. Representatives from the Quello Center, Michigan State University, Merit Network, NTIA, Merit Network member organizations, and internet service providers, celebrated the completion of the project with an event at Michigan State University.

 

The recording of our live-streamed the event  can be watched here: https://hubs.la/Q02PcqlQ0

New Quello Center Study: Broadband and Student Performance Gaps After the COVID-19 Pandemic

East Lansing, MI – August 22, 2023. This study was designed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on home Internet connectivity, student achievement, and adolescent well-being. The focus is on middle and high school students enrolled in rural and small-town schools.

It builds on the findings of a study on Broadband and Student Performance Gaps released in the weeks before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (Hampton et al., 2020). That report highlighted the low levels of broadband access by rural Michigan students and the detrimental impact from a lack of access on their academic performance, educational aspirations, career choices, and general well-being. In 2022, we returned to the same schools that we first surveyed in 2019. We asked students about their experience with Internet technologies and with learning from home during the pandemic. Our findings paint a picture of how rural school districts and other stakeholders rapidly mobilized to address a national crisis. In a remarkably short period of time, schools accessed state and federal resources to close gaps in rural Internet access and computing devices.

More information.

Digital Opportunities Compass: Metrics to Monitor, Evaluate, and Guide Broadband and Digital Equity Policy

East Lansing, MI – February 24, 2023. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) and the Digital Equity Act of 2021 (DEA) establish a broad framework and significant funding to advance broadband connectivity and digital equity. Both Acts recognize that closing the broadband access and device gaps are necessary first steps toward digital equity. To fully realize the full benefits of digital technology for individuals, communities, and society at large additional efforts are needed.

The Digital Opportunities Compass offers a framework to assist in the development of state plans that meet the reporting and assessment requirements of IIJA and DEA but go beyond access and affordability to fully harness the benefits of digital technology. As communities and states develop plans to improve digital equity, it is important to establish a shared framework to establish goals and priorities, to identify opportunities, and monitor progress toward these goals.

Download PDF

Major Federal Grant Awarded to MSU and Merit Network

East Lansing, MI – June 27, 2022. Merit Network and Michigan State University are joint recipients of a $10.5 million National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Infrastructure Program Grant that will connect Michigan’s many disparate Internet pathways. This program, named the Michigan Open Optical Network – Leveraging Innovation to Get High-Speed Technology (MOON-Light), will help address critical infrastructure gaps by enabling technologically advanced, middle-mile fiber optic infrastructure across the state.  It will allow interconnecting local Internet service providers (ISPs) to bring affordable, robust, high-speed broadband Internet to homes and businesses in Michigan’s underserved/unserved population areas. Quello Center Director Johannes M. Bauer is a co-PI of the award.

Announcing MSU and Merit Network as joint recipients of a $10.5 million National Telecommunications and Information Administration Broadband Infrastructure Program Grant to build out “middle mile” networking supporting high-speed internet/broadband to underserved areas of Michigan. From left: NTIA Special Representative for Broadband Andy Berke, Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist III, MSU Board of Trustees Member Renee Knake-Jefferson, MSU President Samuel L. Stanley, MSU Executive VP for Administration Melissa Woo, Quello Center Director Johannes M. Bauer, Merit President and CEO Joe Sawasky.

Full press release with more information.

Quello Center Broadband Portal

Broadband and K-12 Educational Outcomes

Quello Center and Community Partners Recognized with 2022 MSU Distinguished Partnership Award

Johannes M. Bauer (Director, Quello Center), Keith Hampton (Director of Academic Research, Quello Center), Merit Network, Inc. (Joe Sawasky, Charlotte Bewersdorff), Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District (Jason F. Kronemeyer), Mecosta Osceola Intermediate School District (Fred Sharpsteen), St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency (Kevin D. Miller, Brenda Tenniswood), Washtenaw County Broadband Task Force (Ben Fineman), and the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission (K. John Egelhaaf) will be recognized by Michigan State University on February 24 with the 2022 Distinguished Partnership Award for Community-Engaged Service for their efforts to increase understanding of the cost of digital inequalities to rural students, and to help overcome discrepancies in access to high-speed internet connectivity.

More information.

Featured Research Project:
The Role of Ethics in Information Policy

This multi-year research initiative examines foundational principles governing information policy, including the role of ethics from individual, organizational, to sector-level contexts and its repercussions for policy design. Current debates of policies designed to harness the benefits while mitigating the downsides of digital platforms such as Facebook, Google, Amazon and other “big tech” companies are a good case in point. A starting point of the project is the recognition that deep uncertainty and increasing interdependence among players change how the information society can be governed. To remain effective, governance must better reflect these conditions. Systems approaches and adaptive forms of governance are needed to augment established policy models. Moreover, a reassessment of the normative and ethical principles upon which information society policies are based is called for.

Research team: Johannes M. Bauer (Quello Center, MSU)

Recent working paper: Bauer, Johannes M., New Guardrails for the Information Society (September 12, 2021). Quello Center Working Paper No. 05-21, Available at SSRN and DOI.

Quello Center Policy Briefs

Overcoming COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: A United States-United Kingdom Comparison

Policy brief coverAchieving a high overall vaccination rate is crucial for overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic. To prevent widening inequalities, it is also important to increase vaccination rates among the diverse populations that are most gravely affected by the pandemic. Governmental, healthcare, and policy groups need data to guide their strategic vaccination campaigns. This policy brief presents insights from data collected shortly before vaccines were formally approved. Our analysis helps to understand the factors that influence the willingness to be vaccinated and informs strategies to reach vaccine hesitant populations.
Download Quello Center Policy Brief

Broadband and Student Performance Gaps: A Checklist for K12 Schools Considering Online Teaching in Response to COVID-19

Policy brief coverSchool districts face difficult choices. Large scale shifts in public education to an online curriculum must consider inequalities in broadband access, devices and skills, as well as parental and caretaker involvement. However, these inequalities cannot be overcome immediately. Unless schools decide against online teaching altogether because of these concerns (a strategy that has disadvantages for connected students), they need to find responses that minimize potential disadvantages for vulnerable populations. Key considerations are (1) offering of measures to improve the capacity of teachers, parents and learners to adapt to online learning, (2) appropriate design and use of distance learning, and (3) short-term measures to improve access to broadband. Quello Center Policy Brief 01-20 lays out options for short-term and long-term responses to the crisis.

Four Things A School District Needs to Know Before Moving Education Online
Download Quello Center Policy Brief 01-20 | Download Broadband and Performance Gap Report

Community: Stories, Commentaries, Videos, Podcasts
Ending Digital Equity Funding Would Harm America

The Digital Equity Act of 2021 appropriated $2.75 billion to support programs to improve the ability of covered populations, including older

Read more

Photo of fiberoptic by JJ Ying on Unsplash
Mar 24, 2025
Steps towards a workable national information policy

Johannes M. Bauer Changes in government usually motivate stakeholders to generate wish lists and recommendations for the new administration. This

Read more

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Upcoming Events
Past Events
18 Apr '25
(Re)Working AI: Designing Workplace Technologies with and for Labor

Sarah Fox, Carnegie Mellon University in the Human Computer Interaction Institute In Person: Communication Arts and Sciences Room 191 Online: Via Zoom- RSVP Here  or please email quello@msu.edu Work is transforming rapidly. While some might suggest labor is in a perpetual state of change, the accelerated development and deployment of artificially intelligent (AI) systems within workplaces is set to reshape the livelihoods of millions of workers across industries for decades to come. Though proponents see potential in automation as a means to rid work of monotony and boost productivity, many workers and worker advocates view AI as an existential threat […]

  • Friday @ 10:00 am Friday @ 11:00 am
  • 404 Wilson Rd, Room 191, Quello Center, East Lansing, MI.
14 Apr '25
Free
Full Stack AI Governance

Robert Gorwa, WZB Berlin Social Science Center Michael Veale, University College London Via Zoom To RSVP please email quello@msu.edu Every time someone trains, deploys, or queries an ‘artificial intelligence’ system, whether they know it or not, they are implicating the practices and services of an enormous number of interlinked businesses in the AI ‘stack’.  In this talk, Robert Gorwa and Michael Veale will present early findings from their ongoing book project on emerging public-private regulatory practices emerging across this stack, focusing on what does, could, and should be done to prevent very real emergent forms of AI misuse. As more obligations […]

  • Monday @ 12:00 pm Monday @ 1:00 pm
  • Via Zoom, Via Zoom, Please Click Image for a Full Event Description and to Register, .
04 Apr '25
Free
Digital Sovereignty and the Open Internet: Can they Coexist?

Via Zoom  RSVP Here | or email quello@msu.edu An Internet Governance Project (IGP)/Quello Center joint event. On April 4, 2025, the Internet Governance Project (IGP) in collaboration with the Quello Center will gather scholars of differing views to debate what digital sovereignty means, how it is being used as a label, and whether the various interpretations of the term are compatible with the foundational values of the open internet. Recently, new books and analyses have been published, including the book edited by Min Jiang and Luca Belli, Digital sovereignty in the BRICS countries (Cambridge, 2025), the volume by Johannes Thumfart, The liberal internet […]

  • Friday @ 10:00 am Friday @ 11:00 am
  • Via Zoom, Via Zoom, Please Click Image for a Full Event Description and to Register, .
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    • Ending Digital Equity Funding Would Harm America
    • Steps towards a workable national information policy
    • MSU and Merit Network celebrate completion of Project MOON-Light
    • MSU study: Pandemic gains in broadband access for rural students are fading

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