Cambridge’s CHIA and Caltech’s LCSSP strengthen collaboration on AI and society
5 November 2026
A new agreement builds on existing research links, with plans for student exchanges and stronger joint research.
The Centre for Human-Inspired Artificial Intelligence (CHIA) at the University of Cambridge and Caltech’s Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for Science, Society, and Policy (LCSSP) have formalised their collaboration to advance research on how AI can best serve society.
The LCSSP connects scientific research with policy and public decision-making, supporting research, partnerships and educational opportunities that address societal challenges.
The three-year Memorandum of Understanding builds on an existing research collaboration through the Caltech-Cambridge Climate and Social Intelligence Lab, through which researchers from both institutions meet regularly and work together on shared projects.
The collaboration brings together complementary strengths: Caltech’s focused expertise in computational social science, explainable AI and AI alignment, alongside Cambridge’s breadth of interdisciplinary research and CHIA’s MPhil and PhD programmes. Shared interests include understanding how AI systems reach decisions and developing approaches that help them work in society’s best interests.
Dr Ramit Debnath, Executive Director of CHIA, highlights the partnership’s potential to advance the Centre’s research and create opportunities for students:
“Our ambition at CHIA is to develop AI that reflects a deeper understanding of people and their needs. Building our collaboration with Caltech allows us to pursue that ambition together, while creating opportunities for our students to learn from a different research environment and contribute to shared projects.”
Professor R. Michael Alvarez, Co-Director of the Linde Center for Science, Society, and Policy (LCSSP) and Flintridge Foundation Professor of Political and Computational Social Science at Caltech, said:
“This new partnership between LCSSP and CHIA will help develop closer collaborations between the world’s top researchers working to develop AI-based solutions for many of the world’s pressing social and economic problems. A cornerstone of the partnership is a student exchange program that will offer remarkable opportunities for Cambridge and Caltech students to participate in joint research and education programs, gain international experience, and work alongside leading faculty and researchers at both institutions.”
Other potential activities include short research visits and summer schools in areas such as computational social science.
Professor Frederick Eberhardt, Co-Director of the Linde Center for Science, Society, and Policy (LCSSP) and Professor of Philosophy at Caltech, highlights the value of the partnership’s international perspective:
“While the impact of AI is felt internationally, the consequences for societies are likely to differ significantly across the globe. This collaboration will enable us to study in much greater detail the differences and similarities regarding AI regulation, the perception of AI in society and its impact on the economy and labor market in Europe and the US.”
The agreement provides a framework for deepening these connections and developing new opportunities for researchers and students at both institutions.