Advancing the Responsible and Trustworthy Use of AI in Business and Society
The Wharton Accountable AI Lab (WAAL) is dedicated to advancing the responsible development and governance of AI technologies. We believe that the immense business and societal benefits of AI cannot be fully realized without addressing its risks. As organizations worldwide grapple with new regulatory obligations and ethical concerns, our mission is to provide innovative research and practical solutions.
About the Lab
The Wharton Accountable AI Lab (WAAL) is a leading research hub focused on addressing AI’s ethical, regulatory, and governance considerations. As AI technologies continue to reshape industries and societies, the lab explores critical issues such as bias, privacy, legal responsibility, intellectual property, misinformation, job displacement, and manipulation, across both established machine learning and generative AI techniques.
Leveraging Wharton’s unique combination of legal and business expertise and global reach, the lab drives meaningful conversations among policymakers, industry leaders, and academics. Our work enhances research opportunities and provides actionable insights for effective AI adoption, promoting both innovation and societal good.
Research Areas
The Lab is a hub for faculty and affiliated researchers who are active in the relevant areas. We will also host events and recruit postdoctoral scholars.
AI Governance
How organizations can responsibly develop and deploy AI technologies, using techniques such as governance frameworks, standards, audits, codes of conduct, and compliance mechanisms.
AI Regulation
Legislation, administrative rules, and judicial decisions at the local, national, and international level around the world that cover the development, deployment, and uses of AI.
AI Ethics
Normative and behavioral considerations about AI’s moral implications and societal impacts, including AI personhood, allocation of responsibility, and implications for meaningful work.
Faculty Lead
Kevin Werbach
Liem Sioe Liong/First Pacific Company Professor
Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics
Chairperson, Legal Studies and Business Ethics
A world-renowned expert on the business, legal, and social implications of emerging technologies.
Author of extensive scholarship in technology policy, director of the Wharton Blockchain and Digital Asset Project, and former Counsel for New Technology Policy at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Werbach has spent more than two decades exploring major trends at the intersection of the internet, digital media, and communications.
Affiliated Faculty
University of Penn and Wharton faculty associated with the Wharton Accountable AI Lab are leading experts in AI, ethics, business, and analytics. They collaborate on groundbreaking research and provide thought leadership in the responsible use of AI.
Hamsa Bastani
Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions
Associate Professor of Statistics and Data Science (secondary), The Wharton School
Areas of expertise: algorithmic bias and social impact of AI
Cary Coglianese
Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science; Director, Penn Program on Regulation, University of Pennsylvania
Area of expertise: AI governance
Peter Conti-Brown
Class of 1965 Associate Professor of Financial Regulation, Associate Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics, The Wharton School
Areas of expertise: financial regulatory models applied to AI safety
Michael Horowitz
Richard Perry Professor
Director, Perry World House
Areas of expertise: AI governance and national security
Danaë Metaxa
Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Science, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania
Area of expertise: algorithmic auditing
Sonny Tambe
Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions
Faculty Co-Director, AI at Wharton
Areas of expertise: algorithmic bias and explainability
In the News
Wharton professor launches podcast focusing on artificial intelligence, interviews with experts
The Road To Accountable AI Podcast
Listen as Professor Kevin Werbach interviews top global experts on the state of practice around responsible, safe, and trustworthy AI, as well as major legal and regulatory developments.
Wharton Executive Education: Strategies for Accountable AI
Upcoming Session Dates:
March 26 – May 30, 2025
Bold new insights, greater efficiency, a stronger bottom line: the already-strong promise of AI has exploded since ChatGPT burst on the scene. But with industry-shifting technology comes serious risks: concerns range from hallucinations and bias to privacy and intellectual property issues, potentially leading to major embarrassments, regulatory penalties, and legal liability.
Led by Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative faculty experts, Strategies for Accountable AI brings you an up-to-the-minute, comprehensive roadmap for effective AI oversight, enabling you to implement or modify systems and processes so they are responsible, safe, trustworthy, ethical, and legally compliant.
Harnessing the Power of Partnership
We are always looking to partner with companies and AI labs that share our commitment to advancing responsible AI governance.
If you are interested in collaborating with us, please contact Tania Rorke, Senior Associate Director of Corporate & Donor Engagement, Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative.
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