Who's who · Research institutes

Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence

Stanford University institute for AI research, education and policy; publisher of the AI Index

At a glance

Founded: 2019
Based in: Stanford, United States
People: James Landay, Denning Director; Fei-Fei Li, Founding director; advisory council co-chair; Russell Wald, Executive director; John Hennessy, Advisory council co-chair
Known for: AI Index Report, Center for Research on Foundation Models, Congressional Boot Camp on AI
Funding: Part of Stanford University (non-profit)
Parent: Stanford University
Scholars: 400+ (May 2026)
Website: https://hai.stanford.edu

The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) is an interdisciplinary institute for AI and data science research, education and policy. It draws faculty and students from all seven of Stanford's schools, from engineering and medicine to law and the humanities.

HAI launched in 2019, with Fei-Fei Li as founding director. Its best-known output is the AI Index, an annual report that tracks AI's technical progress, investment, policy and public opinion; the 2026 edition came out in April 2026. HAI is also home to the Center for Research on Foundation Models, which studies the large general-purpose models behind today's chatbots, and runs AI boot camps for congressional staff.

In May 2026 Stanford merged HAI with the Stanford Data Science initiative into a single institute under the HAI name, bringing together more than 400 scholars and the Marlowe computing cluster. James Landay remains Denning Director. Fei-Fei Li is founding director, co-chairs the advisory council and serves as Special Advisor on AI to Stanford's president.

Sources

Stanford HAI, About, 2026-10-02
Stanford HAI, Stanford Merges AI and Data Science Efforts Under Single Institute, 2026-05-04
Stanford HAI, The 2026 AI Index Report, 2026-04-13
SiliconANGLE, China has erased the US lead in AI, Stanford HAI's 2026 AI Index reveals, 2026-04-13

Facts last checked 2026-10-02