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Across the FieldHighly excitable, but disturbingly calm under pressure. His default answer is always “yes.”
Harlan Yu co-founded Upturn in 2011 and served as its Executive Director until 2026.
Over nearly 15 years, he built Upturn into a sharp, principled organization at the forefront of technology and justice. Under Harlan’s leadership, Upturn produced rigorous research and advocacy on issues ranging from law enforcement surveillance and payday lending, to tenant screening, hiring discrimination, and how Medicaid and other public benefits systems make automated decisions — work that has shaped policy, litigation, and advocacy across the field.
Harlan holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Princeton University, and a B.S. in electrical engineering and computer science from UC Berkeley.
Highly excitable, but disturbingly calm under pressure. His default answer is always “yes.”
Letter to the Biden-Harris Administration on their forthcoming AI Executive Order
As the Biden-Harris administration considers the contents of an Executive Order on artificial intelligence, the undersigned civil rights, technology, policy, and research organizations call on the administration to continue centering civil rights protections.
Read moreFeatured work by Harlan
All work by HarlanWe sent a letter urging the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy to fully incorporate the Biden administration’s commitment to racial equity into its AI and technology priorities.
Across the FieldThis report is the most comprehensive examination of U.S. law enforcement’s use of mobile device forensic tools. Our research shows that every American is at risk of having their phone forensically searched by law enforcement.
PolicingWe are suing the NYPD for records concerning the department’s use of mobile device forensic technology. Upturn is represented on a pro-bono basis by Shearman & Sterling, LLP and the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.).
PolicingWe wrote a letter to Axon’s AI Ethics Board to express serious concerns about the direction of Axon’s product development, including the possible integration of real-time face recognition with body-worn camera systems.
Policing