PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Jonnie Penn

Jonnie Penn is a historian of technology and AI ethicist whose work traces how ideas of intelligence connect with economic and political power. He co-created The Buried Life, a documentary project that became an MTV series, and coauthored its 2012 New York Times number-one bestseller. His academic work spans AI history and governance, including a 2023 account of AI’s origins and a 2024 analysis of an emerging market for human intent. As of October 2026, he is an Associate Teaching Professor of AI Ethics and Society at the University of Cambridge.

Born
1987

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 2006–2010

    The Buried Life on MTV

    With three friends, he starts The Buried Life, a documentary project built around a list of 100 things to do before they die. The group films its first feature documentary in 2006; in 2010, he stars in the MTV series.

  2. 2012

    A New York Times bestseller

    The Buried Life publishes its first book, What Do You Want to Do Before You Die?, with Penn as a coauthor in 2012. The book reaches number one on The New York Times bestseller list.

  3. 2013

    McGill and Pembroke studies

    By 2013, he is finishing his undergraduate studies at McGill while studying philosophy of physics and logic at Cambridge’s Pembroke College. He comes from Victoria, British Columbia.

  4. 2018

    Google and Assembly fellowships

    In 2018, he joins the Assembly cohort at the Berkman Klein Center and MIT Media Lab as a Google Technology Policy Fellow and Cambridge doctoral scholar. The cohort tackles emerging questions in AI and governance.

  5. 2020

    A Cambridge reading group

    In December 2020, he co-facilitates a Cambridge reading group on scientific management, statistics, digital computers, and debates about human thought. His dissertation Inventing Intelligence examines ideas of efficiency and authority in the history and philosophy of computer science, AI, and management science.

  6. 2023

    Animo nullius

    In 2023, he publishes “Animo nullius,” tracing AI’s theoretical origins to capitalism and drawing parallels between colonial history and data colonialism.

  7. 2024

    The intention economy

    In 2024, with Yaqub Chaudhary, he publishes “Beware the Intention Economy: Collection and Commodification of Intent via Large Language Models.” The paper argues that language models could collect and monetize signals of human plans and purposes, with risks for democratic norms.

  8. As of October 2026

    AI ethics at Cambridge

    As of October 2026, he is an Associate Teaching Professor of AI Ethics and Society at the University of Cambridge. He is also a Faculty Affiliate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center, a Senior Research Fellow at Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, a Research Fellow and Teaching Associate in Cambridge’s Department of History and Philosophy of Science, and a Research Fellow at St. Edmund’s College.

Career

  1. NowUniversity of CambridgeAssociate Teaching Professor of AI Ethics and Society

Education

  1. 2013McGill UniversityUndergraduate studies
  2. University of CambridgePhD

From the biography.

  1. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public rolesIncludes Jonnie Penn. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public roles. Another 97 people moved from public careers into AI organizations or research, with 62% of dated records starting from 2020 on.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Cambridge. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  3. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Cambridge. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  4. Companies supply the most prior-work hires at 7 of the 9 frontier AI labsIncludes University of Cambridge. Our estimates of the organizations where 550 people worked directly before joining 9 frontier AI labs across 620 career transitions, comparing the main feeder organizations per lab.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Jonnie Penn yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Jonnie Penn - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. The Buried Life - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. MTV Keeps It ‘Real’ | TV Tech tvtechnology.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. The Buried Life | Hachette Book Group hachettebookgroup.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. The Tab Meets: Jonnie Penn thetab.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Announcing the 2018 Assembly Cohort | Berkman Klein Center cyber.harvard.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Dr Jonnie Penn | Histories of Artificial Intelligence: A Genealogy of Power ai.hps.cam.ac.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Reading Group #8 on Scientific Management, Statistics, and the Instruments of Thought ai.hps.cam.ac.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. Animo nullius: on AI's origin story and a data colonial doctrine of discovery | BJHS Themes cambridge.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  10. Beware the Intention Economy: Collection and Commodification of Intent via Large Language Models hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  11. Dr Jonnie Penn jonniepenn.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  12. Machines To Become Capable, Smarter In Future: Prof. (Dr.) Penn | SOA soa.ac.in. Checked 20 October 2026.