Behind the Research: Alex Chan

Why It Matters

Effective market design can dramatically increase organ availability and ensure responsible AI deployment, directly impacting public health and societal welfare.

Key Takeaways

• Market design can save thousands of lives through organ allocation
• Aligning AI incentives with human values mirrors healthcare market challenges
• Simple rule changes can dramatically increase organ donation rates
• Teaching negotiation and ethics equips students to improve real‑world policies
• Rubik’s cube metaphor illustrates complexity and fairness in market design

Summary

Alex Chan, an assistant professor in Harvard Business School’s Negotiations, Organizations & Markets unit, studies market design, focusing on high‑stakes arenas such as organ transplantation and artificial‑intelligence alignment.

He argues that modest rule tweaks in organ‑allocation systems can save thousands of lives, while mis‑aligned incentives in AI markets risk costly failures. Chan’s work builds on guidance from Nobel laureate Alvin Roth and has been applied to federal and foreign policy initiatives.

Chan often illustrates his points with a Rubik’s cube, noting that a chaotic market becomes orderly only after the right sequence of moves, yet fairness may still be questioned from another angle. He also engages students in moral‑philosophy and negotiation exercises before lunch, turning theory into practice.

The implications are clear: better‑designed markets can improve health outcomes, guide responsible AI deployment, and provide a template for policymakers and future leaders to address complex societal challenges.

Original Description

Alex Chan, assistant professor of business administration, discusses his research on market design, how thoughtful design choices can better serve people, why a Rubik’s Cube serves as a metaphor for his work, and more.

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0:10 - Intro

0:20 - What are your research interests?

0:44 - What attracted you to this field?

1:23 - Why is this research important?

1:57 - Have you written a case related to this research?

2:23 - What item did you bring and how does it best describe you?

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