PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Randall Munroe

Also known as Randall Patrick Munroe

Randall Munroe is a cartoonist and author whose 2014 xkcd strip “Tasks” jokes that checking whether a photo shows a bird needs a research team and five years. He worked as a contract programmer and roboticist at NASA Langley, earned a physics degree in 2006, and left NASA to draw webcomics full time. He developed Robot9000 and ran a 2010 color survey that produced 954 named RGB colors adopted by Matplotlib and LaTeX. He made a radiation chart in 2011, won a Hugo Award for “Time,” published four science books, and wrote a monthly New York Times column. In January 2024, AI-supported AX Visio binoculars used image recognition to identify over 9,000 bird and mammal species; as of October 2026, he is the author of xkcd and selects twenty pieces for The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2026.

Born
1984

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 2006

    Roboticist at NASA Langley

    He works as a contract programmer and roboticist at NASA's Langley Research Center before and after earning a physics degree from Christopher Newport University in 2006. In late 2006, he leaves NASA to focus on webcomics full time.

  2. January 2008

    Robot9000 chat moderation

    In January 2008, he develops Robot9000, an open-source chat moderation script that temporarily mutes users who repeat a message already sent in the channel. 4chan's administrator adapts it for the /r9k/ board, and Twitch uses the rule as unique-chat mode.

  3. 2010

    The xkcd color survey

    Early in 2010, he runs the xkcd Color Name Survey, which more than 200,000 people complete. He publishes a list of 954 named RGB web colors; Matplotlib and LaTeX adopt the names as color identifiers.

  4. 2011

    A radiation dose chart

    In 2011, he creates a chart comparing radiation exposure after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster to clarify confusing reports. Print and online journalists in several countries use the chart.

  5. 2011–2014

    Hugo nominations and a win

    He receives Hugo Award nominations for Best Fan Artist in 2011 and 2012. In 2014, his xkcd strip “Time” wins the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story.

  6. 2014–2022

    Science books and a column

    He publishes What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions in 2014 and Thing Explainer in 2015, which uses only the 1,000 most common English words. How To appears in September 2019, and in November 2019 he begins a monthly New York Times column called Good Question. What If? 2 appears in September 2022.

  7. January 2024

    Tasks and AX Visio

    In 2014, his xkcd strip “Tasks” has a developer say that checking whether a photo shows a bird needs “a research team and five years.” In January 2024, Swarovski Optik introduces the AI-supported AX Visio binoculars, which use image recognition to identify over 9,000 species of birds and mammals.

  8. As of October 2026

    xkcd and the 2026 anthology

    On August 31, 2023, he creates the xkcd's What If? channel, where he answers questions from the books with xkcd-style animations. As of October 2026, he is the author of xkcd and selects twenty pieces for The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2026, which is published in October 2026.

Career

  1. Until 2006NASAContract programmer and roboticist

Education

  1. 2006Christopher Newport UniversityPhysics degree

From the biography.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes NASA. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  2. 19% of people shaping AI who founded a dated organization have founded two or more, waiting a median of 7 years before a secondIncludes NASA. Across 1,136 people shaping AI who founded or co-founded a dated company, standalone lab or nonprofit, 221 (19%) founded at least two organizations, accounting for 36% of all 1,421 founding events.
  3. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI each year from 1955 to 2025, tracing the shift from university labs to companies.
  4. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIWe estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.

Sources and credits

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

  1. Randall Munroe - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. xkcd - A webcomic xkcd.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. 2011 Hugo Awards | The Hugo Award thehugoawards.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. 2012 Hugo Awards | The Hugo Award thehugoawards.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. The Hugo Award thehugoawards.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Famous XKCD Comic Comes Full Circle With AI Bird-Identifying Binoculars - Slashdot slashdot.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. New Tools in the Toolbox | Tensoroo tensoroo.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By Randall Munroe xkcd.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2026 by Randall Munroe - Linden Tree Books lindentreebooks.com. Checked 21 October 2026.