Roosevelt Institute and Data & Society Launch Residency on AI

New York, NY—Today, the Roosevelt Institute, an economic policy think tank dedicated to shared prosperity and power, and Data & Society, a research and policy institute studying the social, political, and economic implications of data-centric technologies, announced the launch of the Good Life Residents Program on AI, a policy residency for emerging scholars and practitioners examining how public policy can shape investment in generative artificial intelligence. Applications are open through Wednesday, August 12, 2026.

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 transition, 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 explosion in investments toward generative AI is benefiting financial asset holders and a handful of hyperscale tech companies, while making it increasingly difficult to pursue a diversified economy that fulfills the needs of working people,” said Brian J. Chen, policy director for Data & Society. “We’re excited to partner with the Roosevelt Institute and emerging scholars and practitioners to put forward new kinds of policy interventions to restructure the AI sector for public benefit.”

“The choices government makes now will determine whether the AI boom concentrates wealth and power or contributes to a stronger and more diverse economy,” said Suzanne Kahn, senior vice president of the think tank at the Roosevelt Institute. “We’re excited to work with Data & Society and the residents to develop specific proposals for shaping how capital flows into and around this technology.”

The program is part of the Roosevelt Institute’s bold vision for a good life: a policy agenda that builds economic security, agency in people’s lives, and cultivates the institutions and leaders needed to deliver. Through research, residencies, and events, the Institute will propose ways to address the affordability crisis by lowering costs and increasing incomes, as well as give people the time and agency needed to live full and meaningful lives.

Like other ongoing residencies on Social Security, the Federal Reserve, and Housing, residents in AI will produce short, original policy research and writing and engage in structured dialogue with peers and senior advisors. Each residency will culminate in a public event that amplifies these new ideas and voices in a dialogue to discuss and debate various national- and state-level policy options that enable a good life.

This paid residency will run from September until February 2027.  Roosevelt and Data & Society will select a total of three residents, who will receive $3,000 and produce short policy research and writing. Interested candidates should apply by Wednesday, August 12, 2026. To learn more about the program, visit: https://rooseveltinstitute.org/careers/good-life-resident-program/

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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.