PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Urs Gasser

Urs Gasser is a legal scholar whose work connects AI governance, law, and public policy. He earned law degrees in Switzerland, studied at Harvard Law School, and led Harvard’s Berkman Center before moving to TUM in 2021. He coauthored an AI governance framework in 2017, published Guardrails with Viktor Mayer-Schönberger in 2024, and coauthored a digital law book with John Palfrey in 2025. In 2026, he worked on children’s digital safety and how institutions review technology rules; as of October 2026, he is a professor and dean at TUM and Rector of the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy.

Now at
Munich School of Politics and Public Policy
Born
1972
Works
239
Citations
11,999
h-index
32
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. By 2002

    Swiss law and Harvard

    By 2002, he has earned a JD and an SJD in Switzerland and is studying for an LL.M. at Harvard Law School. He has published widely in information law and policy.

  2. 2009–2021

    Berkman executive director

    From 2009 to 2021, he serves as Executive Director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society after teaching law at the University of St. Gallen. He becomes Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School in 2013.

  3. 2017–2019

    AI governance at Berkman

    In 2017, he and Virgilio Almeida coauthor “A Layered Model for AI Governance,” a conceptual framework for bridging information gaps between AI developers, consumers, and policymakers. By 2019, he and Jonathan Zittrain lead the Berkman Klein Center’s Ethics and Governance of AI initiative, which supports inclusive AI governance frameworks around the world.

  4. 2021–2022

    Professor and dean at TUM

    In April 2021, he announces that he will leave the Berkman Klein Center after 12 years as Executive Director and take TUM’s inaugural professorship in public policy, governance, and innovative technology to help build its new school. By 2022, he is the founding dean of the TUM School of Social Science and Technology and Rector of the Hochschule für Politik.

  5. 2024

    Guardrails and AI governance

    In 2024, he and Viktor Mayer-Schönberger publish Guardrails: Guiding Human Decisions in the Age of AI, which sets out four design principles for decision governance. He also publishes “Governing AI With Intelligence,” an essay that surveys approaches to AI regulation and identifies emerging global patterns.

  6. 2025

    A book on digital law

    In 2025, he and John Palfrey publish Advanced Introduction to Law and Digital Technologies.

  7. 2026

    Child safety and governance

    In April 2026, he and Sandra Cortesi discuss when AI could intervene on smartphones, the role peer groups can play, and why children should shape their digital education. In September 2026, he joins Science’s “Expert Voices” with a series on how institutions review technology rules as knowledge changes.

  8. As of October 2026

    TUM professor, dean and rector

    As of October 2026, he is Professor of Public Policy, Governance and Innovative Technology, Dean of the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, and Rector of the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy.

Career

  1. Since 2021Technical University of MunichProfessor of Public Policy, Governance and Innovative Technology
  2. NowMunich School of Politics and Public PolicyRector
  3. Until 2009University of St.GallenLaw Professor

Education

  1. Harvard UniversityLL.M.

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. 5 of the 25 people with the most-cited recent papers also lead on career citationsIncludes Urs Gasser. We compare citations to 2023–2025 papers with career citations and h-index, after correcting reviewed publication-date errors: who leads, when they started and where they work.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Technical University of Munich. 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.
  3. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Technical University of Munich. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.
  4. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Technical University of Munich. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

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

  1. Welcome, Urs Gasser! cyber.harvard.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. Urs Gasser — TUM Think Tank tumthinktank.de. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. A Layered Model for AI Governance cyber.harvard.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Ethics and Governance of AI at Berkman Klein: Report on Impact, 2017-2019 cyber.harvard.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. Urs Gasser to embark on new role across the Atlantic cyber.harvard.edu. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. Prof. Urs Gasser im Interview über Technologie und Werte tum.de. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. Prof. Dr. Urs Gasser professoren.tum.de. Checked 22 October 2026.
  8. Guardrails.Design – Principles for Good Decision Governance guardrails.design. Checked 22 October 2026.
  9. Governing AI With Intelligence issues.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  10. Digital safety for children – “Better design instead of blanket bans” tum.de. Checked 22 October 2026.