Sunny Gandhi
Sunny Gandhi is an AI policy advocate whose career spans legal-reasoning research and AI governance. He co-authored LegalBench and called for stronger California safeguards in 2023. He graduated from Indiana University in 2024 and testified for California’s SB 1047. By 2025, his work included federal guardrails for AI in nuclear weapons systems and an essay on the TAKE IT DOWN Act. TIME named him to its 2026 TIME100 AI list; as of October 2026, he is Encode AI’s co-executive director and supports federal legislation for AI transparency.
- Now at
- Encode AI
- Works
- 10
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.
Timeline
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August 2023
A legal-reasoning benchmark
In August 2023, he co-authors LegalBench, a collaborative benchmark of 162 tasks for measuring legal reasoning in large language models.
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2023
Calling for California safeguards
In 2023, he serves as Encode Justice’s vice president of policy and strategy and calls on California to lead on common-sense AI safety rules.
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May 2024–July 2024
Graduation and policy testimony
In May 2024, he graduates from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. In June 2024, he discusses his work as Encode Justice’s vice president of political affairs on the Future Coalition Podcast. In July 2024, he testifies before California’s Assembly Judiciary Committee as an SB 1047 co-sponsor.
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February 2025
TAKE IT DOWN Act essay
In February 2025, he and Adam Billen co-author an essay on the Senate’s passage of the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which covers AI-created digital forgeries.
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By 2025
Technical work and safeguards
By 2025, his career includes technical roles at NASA, Deloitte, and a nuclear energy company, along with work that led to federal guardrails for AI in nuclear weapons systems.
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July 2026
Illinois AI safety law
In July 2026, he calls Illinois’s SB 315 the strongest AI safety law in the country; the act requires independent third-party safety audits of covered AI systems.
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August 2026
TIME100 AI recognition
In August 2026, TIME names him among its 100 most influential people in AI and identifies him as Encode’s co-executive director.
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As of October 2026
Co-executive director at Encode
As of October 2026, he is Encode AI’s co-executive director. In September 2026, he endorses the AI Systems Transparency Act, which would require public disclosure of model data, safeguards, and safety measures.
Sources and credits
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- LegalBench: A Collaboratively Built Benchmark for Measuring Legal Reasoning in Large Language Models
- Poll Finds Majority of Californians Back Safeguards on AI Usage, are Concerned, not Excited, About AI Growth
- AI regulation isn’t happening fast enough—and for Gen Zers like me our future is on the line
- Zero Hour and Encode Justice: Future Incubator Fiscal Projects Making Waves - Future Coalition Podcast
- Assembly Standing Committee on Judiciary July 2, 2024 | Digital Democracy
- The US Senate’s Passage of the TAKE IT DOWN ACT is Progress on an Urgent, Growing Problem
- Sunny Gandhi
- Gov. Pritzker Signs Nation-Leading Artificial Intelligence Safety Law
- 2026 TIME100 AI: Meet Sunny Gandhi, the advocate pushing for stronger safeguards as AI enters critical systems
- Sen. Britt backs bipartisan AI transparency legislation