The AI Now Institute was launched on 15 November 2017 in partnership with New York University, where its founders, Kate Crawford and Meredith Whittaker, were faculty in NYU Tandon’s Department of Technology, Culture and Society. The announcement described it as the first university research institute dedicated to studying the social implications of AI, and the first AI institute founded and led by women.
AI Now studies the real-world consequences of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and algorithmic systems, with early attention to civil rights, the risks of biased data, safety and infrastructure, and labor automation. Over time its work sharpened into a critique of the AI industry’s structure, challenging what it calls “unbridled commercial surveillance, consolidation of power in very few companies, and a lack of public accountability,” and arguing for policy and regulation to rebalance that power.
To protect its independence, AI Now decided in 2022 to stop accepting corporate funding, relying instead on foundations such as Ford, MacArthur, and the Omidyar Network, and stating that funders do not dictate its research areas or influence its findings. It operates as a non-profit and is best known for its annual reports surveying the state of AI’s social impact.
Why business readers should care: AI Now is one of the most prominent critical voices on AI’s concentration of power and accountability gaps, and its reports help frame the policy debates that shape regulation of the industry.