Meredith Whittaker is the president of the Signal Foundation, serving on its board of directors, and a leading voice on the social implications of artificial intelligence, privacy, and labor rights in the tech industry. She co-founded the AI Now Institute at New York University and previously spent 13 years at Google, where she founded its Open Research group. In 2023, TIME magazine listed her among the 100 most influential people in AI.
Whittaker's career spans technology research, policy advocacy, and organizational leadership. She has advised the White House, the Federal Trade Commission, the European Parliament, and other government bodies on AI, Internet policy, and privacy. Her work frequently addresses the political economy of tech, the risks of machine learning systems, and the need for transparency and accountability in their deployment.
Early life and education
Whittaker completed her bachelor's degree in rhetoric and English literature at the University of California, Berkeley. Her academic background in rhetoric informs her focus on the narratives and power structures surrounding technology.
Research and career
Whittaker's research has centered on data validation, privacy, the social consequences of AI, and labor movements within the tech industry. She co-founded M-Lab, a globally distributed network measurement system that provides open data on Internet performance, and has written for the American Civil Liberties Union. She has spoken at events such as the 2018 World Summit on AI.
Before joining Signal, Whittaker was the Minderoo Research Professor at New York University and the faculty director of the AI Now Institute, which she started with Kate Crawford in 2017 after a symposium hosted by the White House. The institute, partnered with the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and the NYU Center for Data Science, produces annual reports examining bias, rights, and liberties in AI systems.
Whittaker joined Google in 2006. She founded Google Open Research, which collaborated with open source and academic communities on issues including net neutrality measurement, privacy, security, and the social consequences of AI.
In 2018, Whittaker was a core organizer of the Google Walkouts, in which over 20,000 employees protested the company's handling of sexual misconduct claims and its involvement in Project Maven, a U.S. military drone program. More than three thousand employees signed a petition written by Whittaker against the project. Following the protests, Google did not renew the Maven contract. Whittaker also called for Google to rethink its AI ethics council after the appointment of Kay Coles James, and she later claimed retaliation from the company, stating she was told to "abandon her work" on tech ethics.
AI Now
As co-founder and chief advisor of the AI Now Institute, Whittaker led research into the social implications of AI, including bias, rights, and liberties. The institute's annual reports have highlighted how AI systems can entrench harmful patterns and called for stronger oversight.
Congressional testimony
Whittaker has testified before Congress on multiple occasions. In June 2019, she testified to the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space & Technology on "Artificial Intelligence: Societal and Ethical Implications," pointing to research showing AI can entrench bias and calling for whistleblower protections for tech workers. In January 2020, she testified to the House Oversight Committee on facial recognition technology, arguing that bias was not the core concern and warning against over-reliance on technical audits that could justify problematic systems.
Federal Trade Commission
In November 2021, Lina Khan confirmed that Whittaker had joined the Federal Trade Commission as a senior advisor on AI to the chair. She ended her term at the FTC when she announced her role at Signal in September 2022.
Signal
On September 6, 2022, Whittaker announced she would become Signal's president on September 12, a new position created in collaboration with Signal's leadership. In July 2025, she also joined the board of directors at the German media company Hubert Burda Media.
References
External links
Media related to Meredith Whittaker at Wikimedia Commons