A Letter from
Executive Director 
Alex Pascal 

First and foremost, it is an honor to be part of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Since joining as Executive Director halfway through 2025, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the BKC team and engaging broadly with the BKC family—a global network of researchers, practitioners, and supporters who care deeply about our organization and the impact of digital technology on people and society writ large. Most of all, I have loved discussing big ideas and even bigger aspirations, being stretched in so many ways, and striving to lead this storied organization into an uncertain, and often unsettling, future. 

The world of digital technology is moving quickly. The velocity of change in generative AI alone and its integration into our lives over the last year have been exhilarating, terrifying, and profoundly humbling—often all three at the same time. It all feels a little (or a lot!) out of control. What’s more, this AI revolution is happening even as society continues to grapple with persistent challenges of the internet itself. 

In 2025, BKC embraced this challenge in our own unique way, with vigor and creativity. We have worked hard to sort the signals from the noise, look around corners to ascertain what will matter next, and interrogate the status quo with open-mindedness and curiosity. We welcomed our first Chief AI Scientist to drive BKC’s AI research initiatives. The Applied Social Media Lab released its first wave of products aimed at improving people’s online experience. The Navigate Summit, cohosted with IAPP, and our new executive education program brought together leaders from across sectors and disciplines to better understand digital regulation, risk, and responsibility, spanning privacy, AI governance, cybersecurity law, and online safety. Our dynamic speaker series, classes, workshops, and student and community programming sparked and amplified new ideas and thought leadership that reached thousands. All of these programs and collaborations over the last year helped us learn more about the development of AI and its impacts on our society.   

The Berkman Klein Center exists to make sense of the digital environment and ensure that it promotes human agency, dignity, and genuine connection. This mission guides our efforts. I am privileged to lead BKC at a moment when understanding new technologies and steering them to serve the public good has never been more challenging or more important. I am immensely proud of the work the Center and our larger community did last year, and I am excited to enter 2026 with direction, wonder, and urgency. Thank you for your support, partnership, and sense of shared purpose. Here we go! 

Sincerely,
Alex Pascal

Executive Director, The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society