Logo
Cass Sunstein Headshot
Report a problem with this profile
[email protected]

Cass Sunstein      

Director of the Behavioral Economics & Public Policy Program at Harvard Law School, NYT Best-Selling Author, Former Administrator of the White House Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs

How do leaders bring about change? How do you motivate employees and influence customers in positive directions? How can an organization best utilize artificial intelligence to support decision-making and good judgement?

According to Cass Sunstein, the Harvard Law Professor who is widely recognized for his expertise on persuasion and influence, each of these seemingly unrelated questions can be answered through a deep understanding of human behavior.

“Why study behavior?” Sunstein asks. “It’s too weak to say the science of understanding the characteristics we all share is merely interesting. Core commonalities, like how people dislike losses more than they like gains or why people all over the world make the same mistakes about risk, are at the core of our species – and understanding the ‘why’ behind them is really fun.”

Co-author of the international bestseller “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness” with Richard Thaler and the new book, “Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There” (Atria/One Signal Publishers, February 2024), Sunstein has become world-renowned for his key insights into decision-making processes. His practical recommendations for convincing individuals to make better choices, without them even knowing it, forever changed the way leaders everywhere approach transition.

After decades of research into the science behind the choices people make, Sunstein brings leaders and organizations frameworks, methodologies and strategies for achieving better management with established behavioral economics and science principles. Gifted with a quirky sense of humor, Sunstein’s talks, keynotes and advisory sessions use accessible metaphors and references to bring academic concepts to a practical level, leaving teams with recommendations they can put into practice the very next day.

His guidance is relied upon by organizations and governments around the world as they seek reliable theories on influencing populations in positive ways, even during uncertain times. This has dramatic effects on employee engagement and retention, as well as significant impacts to a brand’s bottom line as customers gravitate toward enjoyable products and services.

Speech Topics

Robots Run By Generative AI Are Here – Should They Have Rights?

Generative AI has led to the definition of “sentience” becoming more of a question than a statement. If AI tools can “think,” should they have rights? No more than your toaster should have rights, says Harvard Law Professor Cass Sunstein, a prominent legal scholar and well-known authority on the U.S. Constitution. Funny and engaging, Sunstein uses accessible metaphors and pop culture references to illustrate what generative AI is, how it works and why, even though it seems humanlike in its interactions, it doesn’t deserve any more rights than a blanket on a bed. Sunstein brings organizations thought-provoking questions that encourage deeper thinking about how to engage with AI technology, no matter how quickly it advances.

Noise and Bias

Human beings are sometimes “biased,” in the sense that they make systemic mistakes (for example, they might show “optimistic bias”). In addition, human beings are sometimes “noisy,” in the sense that they show unwanted variability (perhaps making different decisions in the morning and the afternoon). The best solution to both noise and bias, says Harvard Law School Professor Cass Sunstein, comes from “decision hygiene,” which can include the use of formal models and algorithms. In this presentation based on his award-winning book “Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement” (2021), Sunstein illuminates concrete ways to reduce or even eliminate widespread “algorithm aversion.”

How to Defuse Polarization and Bridge Divides in Politics, Business and Society

While polarization is an age-old problem, managing and governing people in the 21st century has been complicated by increasingly divisive rhetoric within online and in-person groups, creating damaging political and social divisions in every corner of the world. Business and government leaders looking for successful ways to bridge those divides will find Harvard Law School Professor Cass Sunstein’s insights invaluable. In this presentation, he shares the results of experiments he’s conducted, which explain why such divides exist. He then outlines methods leaders can employ to promote unity, understanding and, ultimately, a successful way forward to solve common problems and reach common goals.

Related Speakers View all

More like Cass