# AI Now Institute The AI Now Institute is an American research institute studying the social implications of artificial intelligence, founded in 2017 by Meredith Whittaker and Kate Crawford. It focuses on policy research addressing tech industry power concentration and produces annual reports on AI's societal effects. The AI Now Institute (AI Now) is an American research institute that studies the social implications of artificial intelligence and conducts policy research addressing the concentration of power in the tech industry. Founded in 2017 and based at New York University, it is recognized as the first university research institute dedicated to the social implications of AI and the first AI institute founded and led by women. The institute has partnered with organizations including the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), Data & Society, the Ada Lovelace Institute, the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, the New York University Center for Data Science, the Partnership on AI, and the ACLU. AI Now produces annual reports examining how AI affects society, with a focus on issues such as inequality, labor, and ethics. Its leadership has also served in advisory roles, including as Senior Advisors on AI to Chair Lina Khan at the Federal Trade Commission during 2021–22. As of the latest available information, its executive director is Amba Kak. ## Founding AI Now grew out of a 2016 symposium organized by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Obama administration. The event was led by Meredith Whittaker, founder of Google's Open Research Group, and Kate Crawford, a principal researcher at Microsoft Research. The symposium focused on near-term implications of AI in social domains, including inequality, labor, ethics, and healthcare. In November 2017, AI Now held a second symposium on AI and social issues and publicly launched the AI Now Institute in partnership with New York University. The institute was initially housed at NYU but has since become a fully independent organization. Its founding was notable for being led by women in a field where leadership roles were predominantly held by men. ## Mission In an interview with NPR, Kate Crawford stated that the motivation for founding AI Now was the observation that the application of AI into social domains - such as health care, education, and criminal justice - was being treated as a purely technical problem. The institute's goal is to reframe these as social problems first, bringing in domain experts from fields like sociology, law, and history to study the implications of AI. This interdisciplinary approach distinguishes AI Now from many technical research centers that focus primarily on advancing [machine-learning](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/machine-learning) capabilities. The institute's mission also emphasizes addressing the concentration of power in the tech industry, which it views as a central issue in AI governance. This focus has led to collaborations with civil society organizations and advocacy groups, as well as engagement with regulatory bodies. ## Research AI Now publishes an annual report on the state of AI and its integration into society. Its 2017 report argued that "current framings of AI ethics are failing" and provided ten strategic recommendations for the field, including pre-release trials of AI systems and increased research into bias and diversity. The report was noted for calling for an end to "black box" systems in core social domains, such as those responsible for criminal justice, healthcare, welfare, and education. In April 2018, AI Now released a framework for algorithmic impact assessments (AIAs), designed as a way for governments to assess the use of AI in public agencies. According to AI Now, an AIA would be similar to an environmental impact assessment, requiring public disclosure and access for external experts to evaluate the effects of an AI system and any unintended consequences. This would allow systems to be vetted for issues like biased outcomes or skewed training data, which researchers had already identified in algorithmic systems deployed across the country. Its 2023 report argued that meaningful reform of the tech sector must focus on addressing concentrated power in the tech industry. This report continued the institute's emphasis on structural issues rather than purely technical fixes, advocating for policy changes that would redistribute power away from a small number of large corporations. ## Collaborations and Influence AI Now has partnered with a range of academic and advocacy organizations, including the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), Data & Society, the Ada Lovelace Institute, and the Partnership on AI. These collaborations have extended its reach beyond academia into policy and civil society. The institute's work has been cited in discussions about AI regulation, and its leadership has provided expert testimony and advisory input to government bodies. In 2021–22, AI Now's leadership served as Senior Advisors on AI to Chair Lina Khan at the Federal Trade Commission, indicating its influence on federal policy discussions. The institute's research has also informed debates about [generative-ai](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/generative-ai) and its societal impacts, although its focus remains on the broader social and political dimensions of AI rather than specific technical developments. ## See Also - [artificial-intelligence](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-intelligence) - [machine-learning](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/machine-learning) - [generative-ai](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/generative-ai) - [openai](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/openai) --- Source: https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/ai-now-institute License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Last updated: 2026-09-08T06:09:29.702198+00:00