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    Who should I follow to learn about AI Regulation?

    Updated October 19, 2026

    Key takeaway

    There is no agreed ranking of people to follow. Overlap is thin: Meredith Whittaker (Copilot, Google AI Mode) and Timnit Gebru (Gemini, Google AI Mode) are the only people named by two engines. Organizations overlap more: CSET, the EU AI Office, CAIDP, Stanford HAI. Engines agree on the approach more than the names: mix legal scholars, policy experts, journalists and official bodies, and follow primary sources such as the EU AI Office, rather than only AI company leaders. Whittaker and Gebru are picked as critical voices on corporate power, bias and accountability.

    Mostly agree

    Follow official bodies like the EU AI Office to track real regulation.

    Meredith Whittaker is a key critical voice on AI and corporate power.

    Timnit Gebru is worth following for bias and accountability.

    Think tanks like CSET, Stanford HAI and CAIDP are strong sources.

    Where they differ

    Which people to follow

      Breadth of coverage versus a short starter set

        Focus on safety risk versus social harm

          Verdict

          There is no agreed ranking of people to follow. Overlap is thin: Meredith Whittaker (Copilot, Google AI Mode) and Timnit Gebru (Gemini, Google AI Mode) are the only people named by two engines. Organizations overlap more: CSET, the EU AI Office, CAIDP, Stanford HAI.

          What engines actually searched

          The sub-queries each engine actually searched before answering.

          Full responses

          5 of 5 engines that answered. Full stored text as captured, with dashes shown as hyphens. Nothing is summarised.

          ChatGPT3,792 characters · October 7, 2026

          If you want to actually understand AI regulation, I’d follow a mix of policy experts, lawyers, regulators, and journalists - not just AI CEOs.

          My short list

          • Andrew Selbst - Excellent for understanding how AI intersects with discrimination, civil rights, administrative law, and regulation.
          • Daniel Ho - Strong on AI governance, administrative law, government use of AI, and empirical policy.
          • Marietje Schaake - Particularly good for the European/global regulatory perspective.
          • Alex Engler - Very useful for following U.S. AI policy and the mechanics of government regulation. Chinese hackers impersonated ex-US official to steal emails from AI experts
          • Lynne Parker - Worth following if you're interested in U.S. AI governance, standards, and federal policy. Chinese hackers impersonated ex-US official to steal emails from AI experts
          • Margaret Mitchell - More technical/ethical than legislative, but excellent for understanding why particular AI rules are being proposed.

          Organizations I'd follow even more closely

          • NIST - Essential for the U.S. standards/risk-management side. NIST is actively developing AI standards and evaluation frameworks. Super Intelligence Standards | NIST
          • European Commission / European AI Office - Essential if you want to understand the EU AI Act. As of August 2026, the AI Office and national authorities are responsible for implementing and enforcing major parts of the Act. Governance and enforcement of the AI Act | Shaping Europe’s digital future
          • OECD - Great for international AI governance rather than just U.S./EU politics.
          • Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence - Good research-oriented coverage of AI policy.
          • Center for AI and Digital Policy - More explicitly regulatory/rights-focused.

          For news rather than academic analysis

          I'd also follow Benjamin Guggenheim at The Washington Post for U.S. congressional AI policy. His recent reporting, for example, has tracked competing Senate approaches to frontier-AI regulation. AI & Tech Brief: The Senate’s frontier AI bill - The Washington Post

          And if you want something that simply tells you “what changed this week?”, the AI Regulation & Policy newsletter from AI Weekly tracks legislation, enforcement, litigation, and compliance developments across the EU, U.S., UK, China and elsewhere. AI Regulation & Policy Newsletter | AI Weekly

          If you only want 5

          I'd start with:

          1. Alex Engler - U.S. policy
          2. Daniel Ho - law + governance
          3. Marietje Schaake - European/global policy
          4. NIST - actual U.S. standards
          5. European AI Office - actual EU regulation

          That combination gives you a much less distorted picture than following only people from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or the AI-safety community.

          If you tell me whether you're interested in (a) investing/business, (b) becoming an AI-policy professional, (c) keeping up as a tech person, or (d) understanding the politics, I can give you a much tighter 10-person/10-newsletter follow list.

          Gemini logo Gemini2,538 characters · October 7, 2026

          To effectively track and learn about AI regulation, policy, and governance, it helps to follow a mix of specialized legal experts, policy researchers, think tanks, and journalists who break down the fast-moving global landscape (including the EU AI Act, U.S. federal/state developments, and global standards).

          Key Thought Leaders & Analysts

          • Anu Bradford: Columbia Law School professor and author of The Digital Empires , widely known for her expertise on the "Brussels Effect" and how the EU regulates global tech giants.

          • Abeba Birhane: Senior Fellow in AI Accountability, known for her sharp focus on algorithmic bias, data ethics, and structural harms in machine learning.

          • Gary Marcus: Scientist and author who frequently writes and comments on the intersection of AI capabilities, safety, and the urgent need for sensible government guardrails.

          • Sarah Myers West & Meredith Whittaker (AI Now Institute): Leaders at the AI Now Institute who focus extensively on the power concentrations, labor implications, and regulatory oversight of big tech.

          Essential Research Organizations & Think Tanks

          • The Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET): Based out of Georgetown University, they provide nonpartisan data-driven analysis on AI policy, security, and governance.

          • The Future of Life Institute (FLI): Excellent for tracking catastrophic risk, international treaties, and high-level safety frameworks.

          • The Brookings Institution (Center for Technology Innovation): Regularly publishes deep dives, policy memos, and essays on U.S. legislation, federal agency guidance, and international AI governance.

          • Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): Great for analyzing geopolitical angles of AI competition and regulation between the U.S., China, and Europe.

          Newsletters, Trackers, & Publications

          • Import AI (by Jack Clark): A widely read weekly newsletter tracking AI research, commercial evolution, and policy implications.

          • Algorithm Watch: A European-based human rights organization tracking automated decision-making and the enforcement of frameworks like the EU AI Act.

          • The Lawfare Media / TechTank: Great platforms for granular, legal-expert analysis on pending congressional bills, executive orders, and liability frameworks.

          Who or what specific area of AI regulation are you most interested in exploring (e.g., EU compliance, U.S. state-level laws, algorithmic bias, or national security)?

          Google AI Mode3,349 characters · October 7, 2026

          To truly understand the landscape of AI regulation, governance, and policy, you need a mix of voices from academia, think tanks, technical compliance, and advocacy.

          Here are the top experts, researchers, and organizations to follow, categorized by their specific focus areas:

          Frontier Model Risk & National Strategy

          ** Helen Toner** – Director of Strategy at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET). She offers deep insights into national AI strategies and frontier model safety.

          Alondra Nelson – Former acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). A major voice on equitable tech governance and the creation of the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.

          Irene Solaiman – Global policy expert working at the intersection of frontier capabilities, societal impact, and deployment accountability. FOLLOW THESE AI LEADERS TO MAKE YOUR 2026 AI FIRST!

          Governance, Rights & Accountability

          ** Prof. Sandra Wachter** – Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute. She focuses heavily on AI regulation, algorithmic bias, data protection, and human rights.

          Virginia Dignum – Professor at Umeå University and leader in responsible AI, heavily shaping ethics-by-design frameworks for international governments and enterprises.

          Rumman Chowdhury – Former head of META/Twitter's ML Ethics team and founder of Humane Intelligence, known for practical, applied evaluation of algorithmic fairness and transparency. Helpful Links: Standards for Research Integrity & Use of AI in

          Critical Perspectives & Surveillance Economics

          ** Meredith Whittaker** – President of Signal and co-founder of the AI Now Institute. She provides sharp analysis on how corporate power, labor, and surveillance incentives shape regulatory debates.

          Timnit Gebru – Founder of the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), offering vital perspectives on accountability, bias, and the social harms of unregulated tech deployments.

          Kate Crawford – Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and author of Atlas of AI , focusing on the material and political realities of data extraction. [LinkedIn·Tamsin Deasey-Weinstein +1]

          Organizations & Think Tanks to Watch

          If you want to narrow this down, let me know:

          • Are you looking for US policy , EU compliance , or technical safety/ethics?
          • Do you prefer newsletters, academic papers, or social media (X/LinkedIn) platforms?
          Perplexity623 characters · October 19, 2026

          Start with Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Urs Gasser for thoughtful analysis of AI governance and regulation; both are professors working on technology policy and regulation. For practical updates, follow Martin Smit’s Regulations.AI, which aims to make AI rules accessible.(foreignpolicy.com)(regulations.ai)

          The search results don’t establish a definitive list of the most influential voices, so treat these as starting points rather than a ranking.

          Copilot logo Copilot3,513 characters · October 7, 2026

          If you want to stay up to date on AI regulation, governance, and ethics, here are some of the most influential voices and organizations to follow right now:

          🌍 Policy & Government Leaders

          📚 Academic & Thought Leaders

          📰 Journalists & Public Intellectuals

          🌱 Ethics & Responsible AI Advocates

          ✅ Tip: To get a balanced view, follow a mix of policymakers (for regulatory updates), academics (for deeper analysis), and journalists/advocates (for critical perspectives).

          Would you like me to create a curated Twitter/X and LinkedIn list of these experts so you can follow them directly?