PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Wendell Wallach

Wendell Wallach is a bioethicist and author who writes on machine ethics and the governance of artificial intelligence. After a Wesleyan degree in 1968 and a Harvard master's degree in education in 1971, he founded the computer consulting firms Farpoint Solutions and Omnia Consulting and sold his interests in 2001. At Yale's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics he became chair of the Technology and Ethics study group in 2005, and in 2009 he published Moral Machines with Colin Allen, followed in 2015 by A Dangerous Master. He co-chaired a World Economic Forum Global Future Council from 2016 to 2018, and from 2020 to 2024 he co-directed the AI and Equality Initiative at the Carnegie Council with Anja Kaspersen. He is semi-retired, consults, and accepts speaking engagements.

Born
1946
Badges

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 1968–2001

    Degrees and two consulting firms

    He earns a BA at Wesleyan University in 1968 and a master's degree in education at Harvard University in 1971. He founds the computer consulting companies Farpoint Solutions and Omnia Consulting, and sells his interests in them in 2001.

  2. 2003–2005

    Machine ethics at Yale

    In 2003, he begins consulting at Yale's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. He teaches undergraduate seminars on robot ethics at Yale in 2004 and 2005, and in 2005 he becomes chair of the center's Technology and Ethics study group. He designs a first-of-its-kind course on machine ethics, which he teaches at Yale.

  3. 2009

    Moral Machines with Colin Allen

    In 2009, he and Colin Allen of Indiana University publish Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right From Wrong with Oxford University Press. The book maps what was then a new field, called machine ethics, machine morality, computational morality, or friendly AI.

  4. 2014–2015

    A Dangerous Master and two awards

    He receives the World Technology Network awards for Ethics in 2014 and for Journalism and Media in 2015. In June 2015, BASIC Books publishes his book A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology from Slipping Beyond Our Control. It aims to educate readers about emerging technologies such as AI and biotech.

  5. 2015–2016

    Hastings Center and a Fulbright chair

    In 2015, he becomes a senior advisor on synthetic biology to The Hastings Center and receives a Future of Life Institute grant for a project titled "Control and Responsible Innovation in the Development of Autonomous Machines". The grant funds a series of workshops with the Hastings Center on artificial intelligence and ethics. He holds a Fulbright Research Chair at the University of Ottawa from September 2015 to February 2016.

  6. 2016–2018

    WEF council and UN testimony

    In 2016, he testifies at a United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Meeting of Experts on the predictability of lethal autonomous weapons systems. The World Economic Forum names him co-chair of its Global Future Council on Technology, Values, and Policy for the 2016–2018 term.

  7. 2020–2024

    The AI and Equality Initiative

    From 2020 to 2024, he is Carnegie/Uehiro Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, where he founds and co-directs the AI and Equality Initiative with Anja Kaspersen. In 2023, he and Kaspersen argue for a robust framework for the international governance of AI. The initiative also holds workshops in 2023 at UNESCO in Paris and the ITU in Geneva that prepare recommendations for that governance.

  8. As of October 2026

    Semi-retired, consulting and speaking

    He is semi-retired, continues to consult, accepts speaking engagements, and is Emeritus Chair of Technology and Ethics Studies at Yale's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. He is developing theories of how human moral intelligence must be upgraded to meet challenges such as climate change and AI, which he calls tradeoff ethics and a silent ethics. In March 2026, he discusses the ethics and governance of AI in an episode of The Next Page, a podcast from the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva.

Career

  1. Since 2003Yale UniversityConsultant, Chair of the Technology and Ethics study group
  2. 2020–2024Carnegie Council for Ethics in International AffairsCarnegie/Uehiro Senior Fellow
  3. 2016–2018World Economic ForumCo-chair of the Global Future Council on Technology, Values, and Policy
  4. From 2015Hastings CenterSenior advisor on synthetic biology
  5. 2015–2016University of OttawaFulbright Research Chair
  6. Until 2001Farpoint SolutionsFounder
  7. Until 2001Omnia ConsultingFounder

Education

  1. 1971Harvard UniversityMaster's degree in education
  2. 1968Wesleyan UniversityBA

From the biography.

  1. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes Yale University. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.
  2. People shaping AI work at a median of 3 organizations over a career: 3 for university starters and institute and lab starters, versus 2 for company startersIncludes Yale University. Across 6,853 people shaping AI with a dated work role, we estimate a median of 3 parent organizations over a career (mean 3.6), comparing role groups, starting sectors and starting decades from the 1950s to 2020–2026.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Yale University. 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.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Yale University. 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.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

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

  1. Wendell Wallach - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Wendell Wallach itu.int. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Almost Human – Wesleyan University Magazine magazine.blogs.wesleyan.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. About - Wendell Wallach wwallach.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. A Dangerous Master: Welcome to the World of Emerging Technologies | Carnegie Council on Ethics in International Affairs carnegiecouncil.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Shaping tomorrow’s smart machines: Q&A with bioethicist Wendell Wallach | Yale News news.yale.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Wendell Wallach | Fulbright Scholar Program fulbrightscholars.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Wendell Wallach | Carnegie Council on Ethics in International Affairs carnegiecouncil.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. AIxMultilateralism: "A Dangerous Master" Revisited - Wendell Wallach on AI, Ethics and Governance | The Next Page | CastFox castfox.net. Checked 20 October 2026.