PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Janet Haven

Janet Haven is the executive director of Data & Society and a public voice on AI governance. Her career began in Central European technology start-ups; she holds degrees from the University of Virginia and Amherst College and spent more than a decade overseeing Open Society Foundations grantmaking on technology, human rights, and governance. At Data & Society, she set a three-year strategy and served on NAIAC from 2022 to 2025, chairing its Rights, Trust, and Safety working group. In 2024, she became an appointed AI expert advising the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Body on AI, and in 2026 she contributed to AI governance priorities with Partnership on AI.

Timeline

  1. 2015

    Associate program director

    In 2015, she serves as an associate program director at the Open Society Information Program. Before joining Data & Society, she spends more than a decade overseeing Open Society Foundations grantmaking on technology, human rights, and governance.

  2. 2017

    Data & Society director

    In 2017, she becomes Data & Society’s first executive director. Her career begins in Central European technology start-ups; she holds a master’s degree from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College.

  3. 2022

    A three-year strategy

    In 2022, she sets Data & Society’s three-year strategy, with priorities extending through the institute’s 2024 anniversary.

  4. 2022–2025

    A rights-based AI perspective

    From 2022 to 2025, she serves on NAIAC, which advises the National AI Initiative Office and the executive branch on AI, and chairs its Rights, Trust, and Safety working group. In 2023, she co-authors a member perspective for NAIAC’s first-year report, advocating a foundational rights-based framework.

  5. 2024

    Advising the UN AI body

    In 2024, she becomes an appointed AI expert advising members of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Body on AI.

  6. September 2026

    Governing AI agents

    In September 2026, she co-authors a Data & Society overview of its research and policy collection on governing AI agents with Ranjit Singh. In 2026, she contributes through Partnership on AI’s Policy Steering Committee to a set of AI governance priorities.

  7. As of October 2026

    Executive director at Data & Society

    As of October 2026, she is executive director of Data & Society and writes regularly about federal AI research and development, AI governance, and policy.

Sources and credits

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  1. Preserving Open Society in a World Run by Algorithms opensocietyfoundations.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Janet Haven - Data & Society datasociety.net. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. Data & Society’s Next Stage zephoria.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. Our Critical Moment: A letter from Data & Society’s executive director datasociety.net. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. Member Perspective: An Excerpt from the National AI Advisory Committee Year One Report datasociety.net. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. Our New Research and Policy Collection: Governing AI Agents datasociety.net. Checked 15 October 2026.
  7. Six AI Governance Priorities for 2026 partnershiponai.org. Checked 15 October 2026.