Research institute · Research orgs · Wilmington, DE (per nonprofit tax filings data)
AI Objectives Institute (AOI) is a non-profit AI research and R&D lab focused on “decoding and realigning incentives” that shape the trajectory of advanced AI and broader economic/social systems. AOI’s stated emphasis is on ensuring that both AI and future economic systems are built and deployed with “genuine human objectives” at their core, enabled by public input, free markets, and scalable cooperation.
In its public research agenda (whitepaper released February 2023), AOI argues that problems in AI alignment have continuity with institutional design, economic regulation, and personal autonomy—so techniques and interventions can flow between AI safety and fields such as economics and governance. AOI frames its work across themes including governance with AI (scaling cooperation), alignment of markets and AI systems (and other “optimizers”), human disempowerment and structural risks, and AI in global supply chains. Operationally, AOI combines theoretical work with applied prototypes/tools. Its featured applied projects include Talk to the City, an open-source LLM interface intended to support collective deliberation by analyzing qualitative input and clustering similar arguments; and the AI Supply Chain Observatory (AISCO), described as improving shared ability to respond to supply chain disruptions by identifying early warning indicators and root causes. The organization also lists research programs such as Moral Learning and Transformative Simulations Research. From a strategic position standpoint, AOI’s public record shows (a) continued investment in deliberation/collective-agency tooling and (b) ongoing publication and productization of tools/research briefs, supported by philanthropic grants in 2023 and 2026 (notably from the Future of Life Institute).
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By Philip Tomei and Bouke Klein Teeselink Abstract: Which jobs can AI learn to do? We examine this for every occupation in the US economy. Existing indices measure the overlap between AI capabilities and occupational tasks rather than which tasks AI systems can learn to perform,
AI, Automation, and ExpertiseBy Bouke Klein Teeselink and Daniel Carey Abstract: Occupations with identical AI exposure can experience opposite labor market trajectories depending on which tasks are automated. Building on Autor and Thompson (2025), we formalize this insight in a model that separates two marg
Talk to the City Case Study: Amplifying Youth Voices in AustraliaYWA deployed Talk to the City (T3C) as one of their research platforms, introducing an innovative interface that bridged the gap between large-scale data collection and qualitative insight. The platform's key innovation lay in its interactive visualization interface, which allowe
The Diffusion DilemmaTechnological progress is often equated with invention, yet history shows that invention alone rarely transforms society without effective diffusion. This paper examines the persistent “diffusion dilemma,” the lag between the emergence of general-purpose technologies and their br
Generative AI and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the United KingdomThis paper examines the effects of large language models (LLMs) on UK labor market outcomes, comparing outcomes across firms and occupations from 2021 to 2025 based on their differential exposure to LLM capabilities. Highly exposed firms reduce employment, particularly in junior
Amplifying transformative potential while designing augmented deliberative systemsTo be effective, augmented deliberation must preserve people's ability to genuinely engage with and be transformed by the deliberative process. This article proposes the Goldilocks Framework for Augmented Group Intelligence, and argues that the optimal use of AI in deliberation i
From Voluntary Guidelines to Enforceable StandardsThe EU's AI Act is transitioning from voluntary guidelines to enforceable standards in August 2025, with Codes of Practice serving as interim compliance measures that are technically voluntary but effectively mandatory since they grant regulatory presumption of conformity. These
AI Governance through MarketsThis paper argues that market governance mechanisms should be considered a key approach in the governance of artificial intelligence (AI), alongside traditional regulatory frameworks. We examine four emerging vectors of market governance, demonstrating how these mechanisms can af
Gradual Disempowerment: Systemic Existential Risks from Continuous AI DevelopmentThis paper examines the systemic risks posed by incremental advancements in artificial intelligence, developing the concept of ‘gradual disempowerment’, in contrast to the abrupt takeover scenarios commonly discussed in AI safety.
Wargaming as a Research Method for AI Safety: Finding Productive ApplicationsAs AI capabilities advance, we need robust methods to explore complex scenarios and their implications. This post explores when wargaming is most effective as a research tool for AI safety, and which types of problems are best suited to this methodology.
AI4Democracy: How AI Can Be Used to Inform Policymaking?LLMs offer new capacities of particular relevance to soliciting public input when used to process large volumes of qualitative inputs and produce aggregate descriptions in natural language. In this paper, we discuss the use of an LLM-based collective decision-making tool, Talk to
Machina Economica, Part II: The Commodification of RiskThis is the second entry in a series on AI integration in the economy, exploring its financial, sociopolitical and historical implications. This entry focuses on economic risk and its financialisation.
AOI published a research post describing a method (RL Feasibility Index) for scoring ONET tasks and analyzing learnability versus AI exposure.
AI, Automation, and ExpertiseAOI published a research post presenting results on how automation and AI exposure interact with expertise thresholds, using international job-posting data.
AI Objectives Institute: support for labor unions through Talk to the City (T3C) (Future of Life Institute grant listing)Future of Life Institute published a grant listing for AOI describing support for labor-union work via the Talk to the City platform.
Announcing Colleen McKenzie as the New Executive Director of the AI Objectives InstituteAOI announced Colleen McKenzie as Executive Director; the post also describes leadership transition details involving Deger Turan and Colleen’s prior AOI roles.
Introducing Talk to the City: Collective Deliberation at ScaleAOI published a post describing Talk to the City as an LLM-based deliberation tool, including stated deliverables, status, and a description of the tool’s intent and approach.
Support for Talk to the City and Moral Mirror projects (Future of Life Institute 2023 grant listing)Future of Life Institute published a 2023 grants listing showing an AOI grant amount and a project summary.