Roosevelt Institute, Data & Society Announce AI Residents

New York, NY—As urgency grows for government to establish regulatory policy and enforcement for the AI industry, the Roosevelt Institute and Data & Society are elevating emerging thought leadership and bold ideas for market rules. Together, the partners announced hires for the Good Life Residents Program on AI, a policy residency for subject matter experts and practitioners examining how public policy should shape investment in generative artificial intelligence.

Roosevelt Institute and Data & Society are excited to welcome the following residents:

• Advait Arun, senior associate for capital markets at the Center for Public Enterprise
• Danica Yu, technology fellow at the Ford Foundation
• Matthew Scherer, fellow at the Open Markets Institute

“It is essential that we act quickly to ensure public, democratic control over this technology rather than private self-regulation,” said Elizabeth Wilkins, President and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute. “What we do today will determine who’s in charge for decades. These resident scholars bring smart ideas for how to shape capital markets and AI development in the public interest, ensuring that the economy serves the people and not the other way around.”

“As much as AI predominates in policy conversations—from discussions about AI safety and circular financing to the material impacts of data centers—there is an urgent need for more forceful proposals to shape how new technologies drive the public’s benefit,” said Brian J. Chen, policy director of Data & Society and senior advisor to the residents. “I’m delighted to announce that Advait, Danica, and Matthew are joining the Good Life Resident program to focus on AI. They each bring an impressive record of experience and a sharp point of view to build out ambitious policies to constrain and reimagine our AI sector.”

The residency will examine how government policy can influence where capital flows within the generative AI sector, reduce market concentration, ensure that labor leads the technology transition in workplaces, and prevent AI investment from crowding out other economically important industries. It will examine questions such as: What policy levers are available to ensure that private investments drive a diversified AI sector and a deconcentrated economy that serves all Americans? How can we ensure that investors don’t neglect other sectors critical to the economy and democracy? What market-shaping tools can the government deploy to ensure that generative AI develops safely and protects workers’ rights?

The Roosevelt Institute has a bold vision for the good life: a policy agenda that builds economic security and cultivates the institutions and leaders needed to deliver it. Through research, residencies, and events, Roosevelt and its partners will propose ways to address the affordability crisis by lowering costs and increasing incomes, and how to give people the time and agency to live full, meaningful lives. Roosevelt is already working with nine Good Life residents, focused on the Federal Reserve, Social Security, and housing policy.

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The Roosevelt Institute is a think tank and student network working to rebalance power in the economy and democracy. As the nonprofit partner to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, we carry forward the legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by producing ideas that shape public debate and investing in the next generation of leaders.

Data & Society is an independent nonprofit research and policy institute. We study the social, political, and economic implications of data-centric technologies, automation, and AI, and use that knowledge to inform and shape policy from the ground up. We believe that technology policy must be grounded in research, account for tech’s real-world impacts, and serve the public. We’re working toward a future where people, not technology, come first.