MIT Center for Constructive Communication

🎧 What does Boston sound like when you stop to listen? Today, realtalk@Boston invites you to do just that. Explore a new digital portal from the MIT Center for Constructive Communication — a living record of over 250 conversations held across 11 Boston communities. Each one captures what life in this city really feels like — the joys, frustrations, and hopes for the future. ✨ Hear residents talk about belonging, safety, care, and what it means to thrive in Boston. 🎲 “Roll the dice” to explore story clusters, uncover shared themes, and listen in on voices from neighborhoods across the city. Visit realtalk.boston to start listening. A special thank you to the community organizations who have collaborated to make the realtalk@Boston project and event possible: ArtSpark Boston, Boston Independent Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ), Boston CASA, Circus Up, Disability Law Center, Family Nurturing Center of MA, Greatest MINDS Boston, Joint Family, Primary Source, The Chica Project, and The Loop Lab. @artsparkboston @circusup @familynurturingma @greatestmindsboston @primarysourceorg @chica_project @wearethelooplab #realtalkBoston #BostonStories #CommunityVoices #MITCCC #ConstructiveCommunication #BostonInnovation #StorytellingThroughTechnology #BostonCommunity

WORDS WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE What does it mean to have speech without a speaker? 🗣️ "For the first time, speech has been decoupled from consequence. We now live alongside AI systems that converse knowledgeably and persuasively –deploying claims about the world, explanations, advice, encouragement, apologies, and promises – while bearing no vulnerability for what they say." 💡 Read Deb Roy's recent piece in The Atlantic. /file/d/1sXCIRN3FkKF7QWAd9VoDeQMGpqpxguwk/view

MIT News coverage of important and relevant new CCC research by @elinorpd @jadkabbara and Deb Roy: https://news.mit.edu/2026/study-ai-chatbots-provide-less-accurate-information-vulnerable-users-0219 In short: Leading AI models perform worse for users with lower English proficiency, less formal education, and non-US origins.

WE'RE HIRING! MIT's Center for Constructive Communication is hiring a student developer to design and build AI-mediated social interfaces! MIT CCC is seeking a student to assist with full stack and/or hardware development to help create AI-mediated social interfaces over the spring semester. As part of the realtalk@MIT initiative, we are exploring how playful, game-like technologies — combining software, AI, and physical interfaces — can help communities have deeper, more constructive conversations. This work builds on prior Media Lab prototypes such as Closer Worlds and Empty Chair, and will culminate in a live, campus-based interactive system used by student groups. This is a paid or for-credit UROP position for MIT or cross-registered Wellesley students, beginning this month, spanning the spring semester with a possibility of continuing over the summer. More info here >> https://elx.mit.edu/experience/acc5ddd1-7c36-4b79-bd4c-c872e483bfac If you’re interested, send over your resume and a bit about yourself!

🥳 We’re still thinking about the energy in the room at the realtalk@Boston release party! On November 10, Bostonians gathered at Artists for Humanity not just to learn about the project—but to experience it. Stories moved through the space via live music, opera, poetry, visual installations, and moments of quiet listening. ⚡“It was energizing to be in a space where there was clearly a lot of intentionality and thoughtfulness in exploring how technology can support genuine connection and community-building,” commented Aesclinn Donahue, Director of UX and Service Design for the City of Boston. 👂This project has always been about practicing what we mean by a listening city: treating everyday stories as civic infrastructure, and honoring the trust people place in us when they share them. 👏 Huge thanks to our 11 community partners, the artists who brought these stories to life, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for making this work possible. ➡️ Read more about the event and what went into making it a one-of-a-kind evening: https://www.ccc.mit.edu/pressmedia/boston-stories-unscripted/ or explore the public listening portal at realtalk.boston

Thank you, Boston ✨ On November 10, more than 100 Boston community members joined @cccxmit at Boston’s Artists for Humanity @afhboston venue to celebrate the completion of the realtalk@Boston project, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation @rwjfoundation . Over the past year, we have partnered with 11 local organizations to speak with their community members about their daily joys, fears, and hopes for the future. By listening across dozens of conversations and leveraging AI-assisted tools, we hope to elevate the common themes and listen into the underheard stories of our city. During the celebration, Rev. Chris Hope of @wearethelooplab , Erika Howard of @frontlinepbs , Sulagna (Dia) Ghosh of @jointfamily.us , George (Chip) Greenidge of @greatestmindsboston , and Ravjot Singh of @cityofboston reflected on media, trust, representation, and what it means to center community voices in decision-making. Through art, technology, poetry, music, and vocals, Nasibe Nur Dündar Arifoğlu @nasibenurdundar , Burak Arifoğlu @burak.arifoglu , Deborah Johnson @debs.dreaming , Poetic Artiste @thepoeticartiste , J. Andrés Ballesteros @jabcomposer , and Tyler Donkoh-Halm @tylerdhalm brought the stories of Boston to life with live performances and public installations. Their pieces were inspired directly by the hundreds of conversations behind realtalk@boston . To our community partners — ArtSpark Boston @artsparkboston , Boston Independent Nonprofit Journalism @binj.news , Boston CASA @boston.casa , Circus Up @circusup , Disability Law Center @rich.con , Family Nurturing Center of MA @familynurturingma , Joint Family @jointfamily.us , Primary Source @primarysourceorg , The Chica Project @chica_project , @wearethelooplab , and @greatestmindsboston — thank you for your commitment, trust, and collaboration. You can continue exploring the stories we celebrated at realtalk.boston — a public listening portal built from 50 hours of conversation with 253 residents across the city. 📸 Taylor Coester @taylorcoester

What does great healthcare mean when so many people still can’t reach it? Across Boston, people shared stories about care — from world-class treatment to long waits, long drives, and doctors who don’t always understand how they live. In hundreds of community-led conversations, we heard a clear pattern: Great Care Still Costs. 👥 This narrative reflects Bostonians’ pride in our medical institutions, and the everyday barriers that make care feel uneven or out of reach. Explore this narrative, along with five others, at realtalk.boston. With gratitude to our community partners: ArtSpark Boston @artsparkboston Boston Independent Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ) Boston CASA @boston.casa Circus Up @circusup Disability Law Center @rich.con Family Nurturing Center of MA @familynurturingma Greatest MINDS Boston @greatestmindsboston Joint Family @jointfamily.us Primary Source @primarysourceorg The Chica Project @chica_project The Loop Lab @wearethelooplab

🎨 realtalk@Boston isn’t just about listening, it’s about what happens when those voices inspire something new. Alongside the conversations and our new public listening portal at realtalk.boston, we launched the realtalk@Boston Artist Fellowship, a program inviting local artists to translate hundreds of Boston stories into accessible, human art forms that help others pause, reflect, and connect. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing each of the four artists who brought this vision to life. First up: Deborah Johnson (she/they) @debs.dreaming , a queer South-Asian multidisciplinary artist, teacher, and writer based in Allston-Brighton. Their project, Public Signs, reimagines how we move through the city. Inspired by realtalk@Boston conversations and Mexico City’s “Inhala Exhala” project, Deborah is designing bold, colorful street signs that feature short, reflective phrases and visual symbols drawn directly from community voices. These signs transform everyday navigation, including traffic signals, crosswalks, and street posts, into small moments of care and connection. Each one invites us to look up, take a breath, and remember that Boston’s story is written by the people who move through it every day. 🪧 Public Signs, along with other fellowship projects, will be featured at Boston’s Stories, Unscripted, happening Nov 10 at Artists for Humanity. Join us for an evening of art, reflection, and community inspired by realtalk@Boston . Explore the voices behind the work at realtalk.boston

🗣️ realtalk@Boston came to life through collaboration. 11 community organizations, 50 hours of dialogue, 253 participants, and 47 themes that reveal what it means to live, work, and belong in Boston. This is part 2/2 of our partner shoutout, highlighting: 👂 Joint Family @jointfamily.us 👂 ArtSpark Boston @artsparkboston 👂 Circus Up @circusup 👂 Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts @familynurturingma 👂 Primary Source @primarysourceorg 👂 The Loop Lab @wearethelooplab These organizations helped surface the stories and voices that form the foundation of realtalk@Boston . Explore them all at realtalk.boston, a new public listening portal where you can hear directly from Bostonians in their own words. Join us Nov 10 at Artists for Humanity for Boston’s Stories, Unscripted, a night of art, reflection, and community inspired by these conversations.

🎧 realtalk@Boston is built on the work of 11 incredible community organizations, who opened doors to deep, honest conversations across the city. Together, they helped record 50 hours of conversation with 253 Boston residents, uncovering 47 themes that paint a textured portrait of life in Boston, and its struggles, joys, and hopes for the future. This is part 1/2 of our partner shoutout, starting here with: 👂Boston CASA @boston.casa 👂 Chica Project @chica_project 👂 Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ) 👂 Disability Law Center @rich.con 👂 Greatest MINDS Boston @greatestmindsboston These partners helped create the spaces where people could speak from the heart. And those voices now live on at realtalk.boston, a new public listening portal where you can hear directly from Bostonians in their own words. Join us Nov 10 at Artists for Humanity for Boston’s Stories, Unscripted, a night of art, reflection, and community inspired by these very conversations.

What does it take for a whole city to feel protected? Across Boston, people shared deeply personal stories about safety — what it means, where it breaks down, and who it includes. Through hundreds of community-led conversations, we heard that safety isn’t just about policing or protection. It’s about trust, care, and belonging — and how those things are distributed unequally. When we used our human–AI sensemaking tools to explore these conversations, a pattern came into focus: Who Gets to Feel Safe? 👥 This narrative captures Bostonians’ widespread desire to feel secure, while also revealing the unequal consequences of relying on policing to get there. You can listen to this narrative — and explore five others — at realtalk.boston. And if you’re in Boston, join us in person on Nov 10 at Artists for Humanity for Boston’s Stories, Unscripted — an evening of conversation, art, and performance inspired by these very voices. A special thank you to the community organizations who have collaborated to make the realtalk project and this event possible: ArtSpark Boston @artsparkboston , Boston Independent Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ), Boston CASA @boston.casa , Circus Up @circusup , Disability Law Center @rich.con , Family Nurturing Center of MA @familynurturingma , Greatest MINDS Boston @greatestmindsboston , Joint Family @jointfamily.us , Primary Source @primarysourceorg , The Chica Project @chica_project , and The Loop Lab @wearethelooplab

Thrilled to present my most bizarre project yet 🙊 This past spring my team at @cccxmit and I launched DisCourse, a curated dinner series hosted in a secret basement under MIT (shhh). Inspired by immersive theatre productions, we invited strangers to flip the script on traditional conversation norms as a way to make sharing personal stories an experience in its own right. In our semi-fictional world called “The GUT” – guests complete rituals set down by the creators of an underground archive which shift as the series grows. Rules and stories are passed between dinners using audio clips embedded in knick-knacks brought by guests of past dinners. By treating a conversation as its own playful (and sometimes challenging) universe, I hoped to question the assumption that people will only show up when it’s easy or comfortable - or that’s all that technology can contribute 🙄 Excited to see where this one leads, read more at the link in my bio. Thanks to @nasibenurdundar for the thrilling collaboration and stunning set design. @omayagawd , Julia, Katie, and all my pals at CCC for helping make it happen. And thanks to @technologyreview and collab partners @ideo @mitmedialab for inviting me to present the project at this years #EmTech conference!