Center for Constructive Communication

MIT’s Center for Constructive Communication (CCC), based at the MIT Media Lab, designs and pilots new communications tools and systems aimed at helping to create more trustworthy, effective paths for communication across boundaries. This work combines the ancient wisdoms of human dialogue, listening, and deliberation with digital technologies to promote shared understanding and trust rather than reinforcing the “side-taking” and binary thinking that too often divides us. Working closely with the nonprofit Cortico, the center brings together researchers in AI, computational social science, and digital interactive design with software engineers, journalists, political scientists, designers, and community organizations. An important aspect of the center is its commitment to reach both within and beyond academia to work closely with locally based organizations to develop, pilot, and scale programs. This includes the realtalk@MIT initiative launched in 2024, focused on promoting guided, small-group conversations to help transform MIT into a "listening campus."

Professor and Director Deb Roy leads a team of approximately 30 members, including MIT faculty affiliates, research scientists, postdoc fellows, and program staff. While most graduate students are enrolled in the Program in Media Arts and Sciences, students in any MIT department may request to conduct master’s and doctoral thesis research at CCC under the supervision of Professor Roy or another CCC-affiliated faculty member. If accepted, they may be eligible for support as research assistants. Every semester, CCC will host undergraduate students through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). Opportunities for undergraduate students will be posted through the MIT UROP office.