PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Sharad Goel

Sharad Goel is a public-policy researcher who studies how algorithms and language models shape decisions about people. He earned a mathematics degree at the University of Chicago, completed graduate degrees in computer science and applied mathematics at Cornell, researched at Yahoo and Microsoft, and later served on Stanford’s faculty. His work includes studies of racial disparities in automated speech recognition and police stops, a 2022 ICML Outstanding Paper on causal fairness, and a 2025 audit of language models used in hiring. As of October 2026, he is a Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, co-directs the Computational Policy Lab, and works on AI alignment and equitable algorithm design.

Works
167
Citations
11,850
h-index
42

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 27 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. June 2005

    Graduate study at Cornell

    In June 2005, he completes a doctorate in applied mathematics at Cornell under mathematician Laurent Saloff-Coste. He earns a master’s degree in computer science there and holds an undergraduate mathematics degree from the University of Chicago.

  2. February 2013

    Research at Yahoo and Microsoft

    In February 2013, he works as a Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research. Earlier, he completes math postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford and the University of Southern California and researches at Yahoo before returning to academia.

  3. 2020

    Studies of speech and policing

    In 2020, he coauthors a nationwide analysis of nearly 100 million traffic stops; it finds Black drivers are less likely to be stopped after sunset. He also coauthors “Racial Disparities in Automated Speech Recognition,” a PNAS paper on racial gaps in speech-to-text systems.

  4. 2021

    Resident faculty at Harvard

    In 2021, the Shorenstein Center welcomes him as resident faculty while he serves as a Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Before Harvard, he serves on Stanford’s faculty with appointments in management science and engineering, computer science, sociology, and the law school.

  5. 2022

    A causal fairness paper

    In 2022, he coauthors “Causal Conceptions of Fairness and their Consequences,” which groups causal definitions of algorithmic fairness into two families and shows they can produce strongly Pareto-dominated decision policies. ICML gives the paper an Outstanding Paper award.

  6. 2025

    Auditing language models

    In 2025, he coauthors an audit of language models used to rate job candidates. The study finds moderate race and gender disparities in the models’ ratings.

  7. As of October 2026

    Professor at Harvard Kennedy School

    As of October 2026, he is a Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and faculty co-director of the Computational Policy Lab. His work includes AI alignment topics such as constitutional AI, auditing, and sycophancy, along with equitable algorithm design. In June 2026, he discusses technology and public policy with Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein.

Career

  1. NowHarvard UniversityProfessor of Public Policy
  2. NowHarvard UniversityFaculty Co-Director, Computational Policy Lab
  3. From 2021Harvard UniversityResident Faculty
  4. Microsoft ResearchSenior Researcher
  5. Stanford UniversityMath Postdoctoral Fellow
  6. University of Southern CaliforniaMath Postdoctoral Fellow
  7. YahooResearcher
  8. Stanford UniversityFaculty

Education

  1. 2005Cornell UniversityDoctorate in Applied Mathematics
  2. University of ChicagoUndergraduate degree in Mathematics
  3. Cornell UniversityMaster's degree in Computer Science

From the biography.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Former graduate students | Laurent Saloff-Coste pi.math.cornell.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  2. Sharad Goel | Harvard Kennedy School hks.harvard.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  3. Social Media and Behavioral Economics Conference | Harvard Law School hls.harvard.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  4. Sharad Goel 5harad.com. Checked 27 October 2026.
  5. A large-scale analysis of racial disparities in police stops across the United States nature.com. Checked 27 October 2026.
  6. Sharad Goel — Publications 5harad.com. Checked 27 October 2026.
  7. A Look Back at 2021 at the Shorenstein Center shorensteincenter.org. Checked 27 October 2026.
  8. ICML 2022 Awards icml.cc. Checked 27 October 2026.
  9. Causal Conceptions of Fairness and their Consequences arxiv.org. Checked 27 October 2026.
  10. Auditing large language models for race & gender disparities: Implications for artificial intelligence-based hiring hks.harvard.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  11. Computational Policy Lab: People policylab.hks.harvard.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.
  12. Jeremy Weinstein and Sharad Goel: Technology, AI, and Public Policy | Harvard Kennedy School hks.harvard.edu. Checked 27 October 2026.