Harvard scientist honored for foundational contributions to privacy and fairness in the AI Age
Award to be presented on November 10 at Loeb House, Harvard University
BOSTON, October 12, 2026 — The Boston Global Forum (BGF) and AIWS announce Professor Cynthia Dwork, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, as the recipient of the World Leader in AIWS Award 2026, for her foundational contributions to differential privacy and algorithmic fairness.
Since 2018, the award has honored one leader each year: José Ángel Gurría (2018), Vint Cerf (2019), Judea Pearl (2020), Stavros Lambrinidis (2021), Amandeep Singh Gill (2022), Sanae Takaichi (2023), now Prime Minister of Japan, Alondra Nelson (2024), and Audrey Tang (2025).
The award will be presented on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at Loeb House, Harvard University, during the BGF Conference 2026, “New Civilization in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Human–AI Co-Creation.” Governor Michael Dukakis, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of BGF, will present the award; Nguyen Anh Tuan will deliver the citation; and Professor Dwork will give an acceptance address. She will also join the AIWS Trust Observatory panel, moderated by Professor Thomas Patterson of Harvard Kennedy School.
Dwork’s work with collaborators established differential privacy, a mathematical framework for analyzing data while limiting what an analysis reveals about any individual. Her contributions to algorithmic fairness help define how automated decisions can treat people equitably. BGF–AIWS sees this work as essential to AIWS Trust Infrastructure: turning commitments to protect people into methods that can be examined and tested.
“A civilization worthy of the AI Age must be able to explain how it protects each human being,” said Nguyen Anh Tuan, Co-Founder, Co-Chair and CEO of the Boston Global Forum, and Founder and Chief Architect of AIWS. “Cynthia Dwork’s work gives us rigorous ways to address that responsibility. We honor her for scientific achievements that help make privacy and fairness part of technology’s foundations, and for their enduring value to humanity.”
Her honors include the U.S. National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest scientific honor, presented by the President; the 2017 Gödel Prize; and the 2026 Japan Prize. On May 1, 2026, at the America at 250 Conference at Loeb House, Harvard University, Nguyen Anh Tuan presented her with the America 250: AI Pioneers Award, and she delivered the acceptance remarks on behalf of the honorees.
About Boston Global Forum and AIWS
The Boston Global Forum brings together leaders, scholars, and innovators to address global challenges. AIWS, founded in 2017, advances AIWS Civilization — the Civilization of Human–AI Co-Creation — through AIWS Trust Infrastructure, the Constitution for Humanity in the Age of AI, and AIWS Lumina, guided by the values of Love, Creativity, Nobility, and Wisdom.
Media contact
Boston Global Forum · [email protected] · bostonglobalforum.org
Cynthia Dwork, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science, 2024, credit Eliza Grinnell