Top AI Think Tanks Shaping the Future (2026)

AI might be built in research labs and startups, but it's being shaped in think tanks.

These organizations influence everything from chip export controls and military doctrine to AI safety standards, labor policy, and global governance frameworks.

Here are the top AI think tanks to know in 2026:

1. Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) - Georgetown University

Focus: AI & national security, semiconductors, U.S.–China tech competition
Why it matters: CSET is one of the most influential voices shaping U.S. AI policy. Its briefings are widely used by Congress, the Pentagon, and defense agencies, especially on compute, supply chains, and strategic competition.

2. Partnership on AI (PAI) - San Francisco

Focus: Responsible AI practices, multi-stakeholder governance
Why it matters: Backed by OpenAI, Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and major NGOs, PAI acts as a coordination layer across industry and civil society. Its role is less about frontier research and more about setting shared norms at scale.

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3. Centre for the Governance of AI (GovAI) - Oxford

Focus: AI governance, compute policy, international coordination
Why it matters: One of the most cited organizations in global AI governance discussions. GovAI research increasingly informs international AI treaties, compute thresholds, and safety frameworks.

4. Center for AI Safety (CAIS) - San Francisco

Focus: Technical alignment research and AI risk policy
Why it matters: CAIS helped push AI existential risk into the mainstream with its 2023 statement signed by leading researchers. It remains a central node connecting alignment research with policymakers.

5. AI Now Institute - New York University

Focus: AI’s social, ethical, and labor impacts
Why it matters: A pioneer in researching algorithmic bias, surveillance, and worker displacement. AI Now’s work is frequently cited in debates around labor rights, facial recognition, and public-sector AI use.

6. Ada Lovelace Institute - London

Focus: Data & AI governance, human rights
Why it matters: A leading European voice on AI policy, with direct influence on UK and EU regulatory frameworks. Often bridges technical research with human-rights-focused policymaking.

7. Brookings Institution – Center for Technology Innovation - Washington, DC

Focus: AI policy, innovation, democratic governance
Why it matters: Brookings reports are staples for lawmakers shaping AI regulation in the U.S. Its work emphasizes balancing innovation with democratic accountability.

8. Stanford Human-Centered AI (HAI) - Stanford University

Focus: AI policy, economics, and societal impact
Why it matters: Producer of the widely cited AI Index Report, which tracks global AI investment, adoption, and capability trends. Regularly referenced by governments, enterprises, and media.

9. Center for a New American Security (CNAS) - Washington, DC

Focus: Defense strategy, AI, and emerging military technology
Why it matters: CNAS publishes some of the most influential research on AI’s role in military competition, autonomous weapons, and future conflict scenarios.

10. RAND Corporation - AI & Emerging Technology Program

Focus: AI, geopolitics, defense, and governance
Why it matters: RAND’s AI research increasingly shapes Pentagon and NATO thinking. Its work on escalation risk, autonomous systems, and strategic stability carries real policy weight.

11. Institute for AI Policy and Strategy (IAPS)

Focus: Training AI policy leaders
Why it matters: IAPS has become a quiet but powerful talent pipeline into government agencies, labs, and think tanks — shaping AI policy through people, not just papers.

12. Montreal AI Ethics Institute (MAIEI) - Canada

Focus: Community-driven AI ethics research
Why it matters: Known for accessible, public-facing work that brings AI ethics beyond academia and into mainstream discourse.

Key Takeaways

Policy is power.
These organizations help shape how governments regulate AI and how companies deploy it.

AI governance has gone geopolitical.
National security, compute access, and international coordination now dominate the conversation.

Three camps define today’s AI policy landscape:

1. National security & geopolitics (CSET, CNAS, RAND, GovAI)
2. Alignment, safety & long-term risk (CAIS, GovAI, FHI legacy)
3. Governance, labor & societal impact (AI Now, Ada Lovelace, Stanford HAI, MAIEI)

Next time you hear about a new AI regulation, export control, or safety framework, chances are one of these groups helped write the white paper behind it.