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
Fellows
Providing thought leadership and strategic guidance to the Wharton Accountable AI Lab.
Jon Iwry
Fellow, Wharton Accountable AI Lab
Honorable Radha Iyengar Plumb, PhD
The Honorable Radha Iyengar Plumb, PhD, has extensive leadership experience at the senior most levels of government, industry, and academia. In addition to being a distinguished visiting fellow at Perry World House, she is a senior fellow at the Wharton Accountable Artificial Intelligence Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, she served as the Department of Defense Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer. In that role she led the Pentagon’s AI, data, and analytics adoption efforts, and created innovative pathways to acquire and scale digital technology across the Department of Defense. Her other government roles include deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, the number 2 official overseeing procurement, logistics, maintenance, and Industrial Base Policy. Prior to that role she served as chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense, and in senior staff roles at the Department of Energy and National Security Council. In industry, she was director of research & insights for trust & safety at Google and global head of policy analysis at Facebook, leading data-driven security, reliability, and transparency related work to improve products and business operations. Earlier in her career she was a senior economist at the RAND Corporation and an assistant professor at the London School of Economics. She holds a PhD in economics from Princeton and a BS from MIT.
Senior Fellow, Wharton Accountable AI Lab
Current Employment Opportunities: Postdoctoral Researcher, Wharton Accountable AI Lab
The Wharton Accountable AI Lab (WAAL) of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania seeks applicants for a Postdoctoral Researcher position to study business-relevant research on issues of their choosing related to AI governance, ethics, and/or regulation. The position is designed to be a career-building step for new scholars. The primary focus is for the scholar to develop her or his research program. A light teaching load will also be part of the position. The position will start in Fall 2025 with an initial appointment of one year with a possible extension of up to three years based on satisfactory performance. A competitive salary will be provided.
WAAL is a research hub on AI’s ethical, regulatory, and governance considerations, with a focus on implications for business. We believe that the immense potential of AI cannot be fully realized without addressing its risks. As organizations worldwide grapple with legal obligations, compliance requirements, and ethical concerns, our mission is to provide innovative research and practical solutions. WAAL is led by Professor Kevin Werbach, Chair of the Department of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, and is part of the Wharton AI and Analytics Initiative.
Qualifications
Candidates should show outstanding capacity for research, as well as excellent communication skills. Applicants must have a Ph.D. or J.D. from an accredited institution.
Application Instructions
Please send your application via email, with the following required materials, to Traci Doyle tracisn@wharton.upenn.edu, with the subject line “WAAL Postdoc Application”
- Cover letter
- Curriculum vitae
- Research statement (1 to 2 pages)
- Teaching statement
- Selected paper(s) and/or publication(s), if available, or a writing sample must be provided
- Information for at least two references who will be contacted for letters of recommendation (name, email address)
For full consideration, candidates are encouraged to have all required application documents submitted by May 9, 2025. This position will start in Fall 2025 with an appointment of one year, with a possible extension of an additional year contingent on funding and satisfactory performance.
The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.
Inaugural Penn AI Governance Workshop
April 4, 2025
Perry World House
3803 Locust Walk,
Philadelphia, PA 19104
The Penn AI Governance Workshop, presented by the Wharton Accountable AI Lab and co-sponsored by the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative, the School of Engineering & Applied Science, the Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition, and Perry World House, will bring together researchers from across Penn working on responsible, trustworthy, fair, and safe artificial intelligence.
Free and open to all members of the Penn community, including faculty, researchers, students, and staff, the workshop offers a unique opportunity to engage with leading experts and shape the future of AI governance.
In the News
The Business Case for Proactive AI Governance
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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