Digital Governance and Agentic AI
Governments increasingly rely on digital systems and AI tools to deliver services, implement policy, and make decisions. At TPP, we examine how public institutions can use emerging technologies effectively, responsibly, and equitably while addressing systemic risks. That means going beyond policy on paper to build the research infrastructure needed to track real-world implementation.
Project Spotlight: Evidence for Justice Lab
Founded by Dr. Andrea M. Headley (Assistant Professor at McCourt and Affiliate Fellow at Georgetown Law’s Center for Innovations in Community Safety) and supported by the Tech & Public Policy Center, the E4J Lab uses evidence to evaluate policies and practices across the U.S. criminal justice system. Its interdisciplinary team of researchers spans public policy, data science, law, and anthropology.
“The E4J Lab’s mission is about using evidence, informed by data and lived experience, to inform policy and practice in criminal justice and promote community safety.”
Dr. Andrea M. Headley
Justice and Artificial Intelligence Tracker (JAI-T)
JAI-T is a centralized database documenting AI-driven tools—from law enforcement facial recognition to algorithmic sentencing risk assessments—deployed across the justice system. By cataloging these technologies, JAI-T gives researchers, policymakers, and advocates a systematic view of AI usage to foster transparency and public accountability.
Student Impact
Through the TPP Scholars Program, graduate students gain hands-on research leadership.
Joya Wheatfall-Melvin
Joya Wheatfall-Melvin (MS-DSPP ’26) served as project lead for JAI-T, overseeing a team of eight researchers and leading data collection and methodology.
Digital Governance Research
Explore how public institutions can deploy AI and digital tools responsibly, transparently, and equitably without compromising public trust.
Explore our research
- Lessons from National Digital ID Systems for Privacy, Security, and Trust in the AI Age, TPP Associate Research Professor Renee DiResta and TPP Scholar CJ Larkin (MPP’26)
- A Landscape Survey of Private Digital Credentials, TPP Associate Research Professor Renee DiResta
- 100 Days of DOGE: Assessing Its Use of Data and AI to Reshape Government, TPP Scholar CJ Larkin (MPP’26)
- Military AI: Lessons from Ukraine, TPP Researcher Gulsanna Mamediieva
- Ukrainian government turns to Georgetown’s McCourt School to train senior government executives, TPP Researcher Gulsanna Mamediieva
- Launched the Justice and Artificial Intelligence Tracker (JAI-T), TPP Faculty Grantee Andrea Headley, TPP Scholar Joya Wheatfall-Melvin (MS-DSPP’26), TPP Scholar Tyler Johnson (MPP’25)
- The Promise and Peril of AI in Criminal Justice Systems, TPP Faculty Grantee Andrea Headley.
- Reducing administrative burden in access to social safety net programs — collaboration with Code for America, TPP Scholar Sunaina Kathpalia (MS-DSPP’26)
- Changes to Medicaid Enrollment Income Verification Logic in West Virginia Increased Application Approvals, TPP Faculty Grantee Jeremy Barofsky