About
What We Study
AI is changing how people learn, decide, and get help. At the AI for Public Benefit Lab, we study that change with curiosity, care, and rigor. We leverage AI to make a measurable difference in people’s lives. Our work focuses on Behavioral Science, Democracy, Social Services, Emotional Well-Being, and Persuasion.
Who We Are
Led by Faculty Director Robb Willer, we are an interdisciplinary group spanning sociology, psychology, political science, computer science, and policy. Mixed project teams, methodologists and engineers working alongside practitioners, carry ideas from design to deployment with government and nonprofit partners. We emphasize transparent methods, privacy-respecting data practices, equity-focused evaluation, and mentoring for students and fellows who want to do public-interest AI research.
How We Work
We start from the simple premise that rigorous evidence is needed for responsible innovation. We pair practical design with carefully conducted evaluation and policy translation, engage affected stakeholders, embrace open science principles, and open-source what we can so others can build on our work. We also use causal effect forecasting to identify more promising ideas before conducting larger human studies, so we study the right things, with the right safeguards, at the right scale.