Center for Humane Technology Lays Off Half Its Staff, Ends Policy Work

The Center for Humane Technology is laying off about half of its non-founder staff and ending its policy research and litigation work, according to a board announcement last week. The cuts affect roughly 9 of 16 non-founder employees.

Executive director Julie Guirado and senior director of strategy Camille Carlton are among those leaving the organization. The board said functions such as assisting in litigation and evaluating AI tools would be eliminated.

Going forward, the center will focus on initiatives with its founders at the forefront, including public education, targeted briefings, and private coordination.

Founded in 2017 by Tristan Harris, Aza Raskin and Randy Fernando, the center pushes tech companies to take responsibility for their products' social consequences. It has an annual budget of roughly $6 million and a similar amount in reserves, funded by wealthy families and foundations.

Its lawsuits drew on research alleging platforms were designed to keep kids glued to their screens, and it recently scored a series of major courtroom victories against social media companies. The center helped organize a congressional hearing on the dangers of chatbots and advised on lawsuits and investigations probing AI labs, including an ongoing case against OpenAI filed by parents of a teenager who died by suicide after interacting with ChatGPT.

Harris appeared in the documentary The Social Dilemma and starred in The AI Doc, released on Netflix last month, which urges viewers to demand Congress protect the public from AI risks. Last month, Harris told NBC News that advanced AI poses a potential "AI takeover" risk and that there is a need to act before it's too late.