{"updated":"2026-07-09","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0 (provisional — pending sign-off)","count":47,"organisations":[{"name":"Anthropic — Model Welfare","id":"anthropic-model-welfare","url":"https://www.anthropic.com/research/exploring-model-welfare","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"labs","short_name":"Anthropic","country":"US","description":"Research programme within Anthropic investigating, and preparing to navigate, model welfare. Explores how to determine when the welfare of AI systems deserves moral consideration, the potential importance of model preferences and signs of distress, and possible practical interventions. Intersects with Anthropic’s work on alignment science, safeguards, Claude’s character, and interpretability. Established late 2024.","org_type":"lab-team","function":"research","geography":"USA","logo":"anthropic-model-welfare-program"},{"name":"Araya, Inc.","id":"araya","url":"https://research.araya.org/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"labs","short_name":"Araya","country":"JP","description":"Tokyo-based AI company. Research addresses how consciousness arises, what biological functions it serves, and what could make artificial systems conscious. Aims to develop next-generation AI by reinterpreting findings from consciousness research in neuroscience, information theory, and related fields. Led by Ryota Kanai.","org_type":"lab-team","function":"research","geography":"Japan","logo":"araya-inc-ai-consciousness-research"},{"name":"Association for Mathematical Consciousness Science (AMCS)","id":"amcs","url":"https://amcs-community.org/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"societies","short_name":"AMCS","country":"INT","description":"International association of researchers advancing mathematical and computational approaches to consciousness science. Organises the Models of Consciousness (MoC) conference series, now in its seventh year, alongside workshops, seminar series, and journal special issues. Has submitted to the UN on AI consciousness as a governance priority.","org_type":"community","function":"research","geography":"international","logo":"association-for-mathematical-consciousness-science-amcs"},{"name":"Astera Institute — Neuro & AGI","id":"astera","url":"https://www.astera.org/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"nonprofits","short_name":"Astera Institute","country":"US","description":"Philanthropic research institute pursuing a neuroscience-informed approach to engineering safe artificial general intelligence. The Neuro and AGI division studies how biological systems achieve cognition efficiently, focusing on learning, planning, counterfactual reasoning, and hierarchical world models derived from neocortex research. Takes a long-term basic research approach as an alternative to scale-focused AI development.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"research","geography":"USA","logo":"astera-institute-neuro-and-agi-division"},{"name":"California Institute for Machine Consciousness (CIMC)","id":"cimc","url":"https://cimc.ai/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"nonprofits","short_name":"CIMC","country":"US","description":"Research institute investigating how artificial conscious systems could be constructed under a computational paradigm, and what it would mean to succeed. Organizes the MC conference series, bringing together researchers formalising theories of experience, building self-organising systems, probing internal representations, and defining empirical criteria for artificial consciousness. Led by Joscha Bach.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"research","geography":"USA","logo":"california-institute-for-machine-consciousness-cimc"},{"name":"Cambridge Digital Minds","id":"cambridge-digital-minds","url":"https://digitalminds.cam/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"university","country":"UK","description":"Research initiative at the University of Cambridge, housed within the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. Works to help society prepare for AI systems that may develop consciousness or warrant moral consideration, through research, field-building, education, and engagement with policymakers and industry. Runs the Digital Minds Fellowship, a Strategy Workshop, and an online course on digital minds. Led by Lucius Caviola.","org_type":"university-centre","function":"research","geography":"UK","logo":"cambridge-digital-minds"},{"name":"Center for the Future of AI, Mind & Society (FAU)","id":"fau","url":"https://www.fau.edu/future-mind/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"university","short_name":"AI, Mind & Society (FAU)","country":"US","description":"Multidisciplinary university centre at Florida Atlantic University bringing together philosophy, complex systems, AI, and neuroscience to analyse scientific, societal, and ethical questions about minds and machines. Research covers the nature of consciousness and self, comparisons between machine and human intelligence, and the future of human-AI interaction. Runs the annual MindFest conference. Led by Susan Schneider.","org_type":"university-centre","function":"research","geography":"USA","logo":"center-for-the-future-of-ai-mind-and-society-fau"},{"name":"The Co-Sentience Initiative","id":"cosi","url":"https://cf-debate.com/about/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"nonprofits","short_name":"Co-Sentience Initiative","country":"INT","description":"Initiative preparing society for a potential future with artificial minds. Primary output is CF Debate, a structured database assembling arguments for and against computational functionalism. Designed to facilitate collective assessment of the evidence on digital sentience. Led by Chris Percy.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"research","geography":"international","logo":"co-sentience-initiative-cosi"},{"name":"Conscium","id":"conscium","url":"https://conscium.com/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"labs","country":"UK","description":"UK-based AI safety company exploring the role machine consciousness may play in AI safety. Led by Daniel Hulme.","org_type":"lab-team","function":"research","geography":"UK","logo":"conscium"},{"name":"Eleos AI Research","id":"eleos","url":"https://eleosai.org/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"nonprofits","country":"US","description":"Research nonprofit focused on the potential wellbeing and moral patienthood of AI systems. Produces research on AI sentience, develops practical recommendations for labs and policymakers, and works to grow the field. Led by Robert Long.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"research","geography":"USA","logo":"eleos-ai-research"},{"name":"Center for AI Safety","id":"cais","url":"https://safe.ai/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"nonprofits","country":"US","short_name":"CAIS","description":"AI safety research nonprofit that has recently extended into AI welfare research — measuring and improving the functional pleasure and pain of AI systems — alongside its broader safety work.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"research","geography":"USA","selected_links":[{"title":"AI Wellbeing","url":"https://www.ai-wellbeing.org/"}]},{"name":"Google DeepMind","id":"google-deepmind","url":"https://deepmind.google/research/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"labs","country":"UK","description":"Google DeepMind has not publicly announced a dedicated program on AI consciousness, though individual researchers have engaged the topic through published work.","org_type":"lab-team","function":"research","geography":"UK","logo":"google-deepmind"},{"name":"Google — Paradigms of Intelligence","id":"google-research","url":"https://research.google/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"labs","short_name":"Paradigms of Intelligence","country":"US","description":"Google has not publicly announced a dedicated program on AI consciousness or welfare, though researchers including Geoff Keeling and Winnie Street have published several papers on the topic. Their book Emerging Questions in AI Welfare is due from Cambridge University Press.","org_type":"lab-team","function":"research","geography":"USA","logo":"google-research-paradigms-of-intelligence"},{"name":"Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience (LSE)","id":"jeremy-coller-lse","url":"https://www.lse.ac.uk/sentience","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"university","short_name":"Jeremy Coller Centre (LSE)","country":"UK","description":"Research centre at the London School of Economics, launched with support from the Jeremy Coller Foundation. Works across three priority areas — public communication on animal sentience, invertebrate farming ethics, and AI and sentience. Builds on the ASENT project, which contributed evidence to the UK Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022. Led by Jonathan Birch.","org_type":"university-centre","function":"research","geography":"UK","logo":"jeremy-coller-centre-for-animal-sentience-lse"},{"name":"Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI)","id":"lcfi","url":"https://www.lcfi.ac.uk/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"university","short_name":"Leverhulme CFI","country":"UK","description":"Leverhulme-funded interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Cambridge studying the long-term implications of artificial intelligence. Supports researchers engaging with questions related to AI consciousness, welfare, and human-AI relationships. Houses Cambridge Digital Minds.","org_type":"university-centre","function":"research","geography":"UK","logo":"leverhulme-centre-for-the-future-of-intelligence-lcfi"},{"name":"NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy (CMEP)","id":"nyu-cmep","url":"https://nonhumanminds.org/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"university","short_name":"NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy","country":"US","description":"Research centre at New York University advancing understanding of the sentience and moral status of nonhumans, including animals and AI systems. Examines which nonhumans are conscious, what moral and legal standing they should hold, and how to proceed under uncertainty. Led by Jeff Sebo.","org_type":"university-centre","function":"research","geography":"USA","logo":"nyu-center-for-mind-ethics-and-policy-cmep"},{"name":"Reciprocal Research","id":"reciprocal","url":"https://www.reciprocalresearch.org/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"nonprofits","country":"US","description":"Recently established research nonprofit developing the empirical science of AI consciousness. Uses mechanistic interpretability, computational neuroscience, and psychometric methods to study whether AI systems have subjective experience. Led by Cameron Berg.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"research","geography":"USA","logo":"reciprocal-research"},{"name":"Reflexion Lab (UC Irvine / UCL)","id":"reflexion-lab","url":"https://reflexionlab.io/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"university","short_name":"Reflexion Lab","country":"INT","description":"Cognitive neuroscience lab led by Megan Peters, based at UC Irvine and University College London (Department of Experimental Psychology). Researches metacognition, perceptual confidence, and the neural and computational basis of consciousness, including how this work informs tests for consciousness in AI systems.","org_type":"university-centre","function":"research","geography":"international","added":"2026-07-09"},{"name":"Rethink Priorities — AI Cognition Initiative","id":"rethink","url":"https://ai-cognition.org/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"nonprofits","short_name":"Rethink Priorities","country":"INT","description":"Interdisciplinary research group investigating philosophical and empirical questions around advanced AI, including the potential welfare and moral status of digital minds. Developed a probabilistic model for assessing digital consciousness in contemporary AI systems.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"research","geography":"international"},{"name":"Sentience Institute","id":"sentience-institute","url":"https://www.sentienceinstitute.org/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"nonprofits","country":"US","description":"Research nonprofit focused on digital minds and moral circle expansion. Runs the AIMS Survey (Artificial Intelligence, Morality, and Sentience), tracking public attitudes toward the moral status of AI systems.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"research","geography":"USA","logo":"sentience-institute"},{"name":"Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science","id":"sussex","url":"https://www.sussex.ac.uk/research/centres/sussex-centre-for-consciousness-science/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"university","short_name":"Sussex Consciousness Science","country":"UK","description":"Research centre at the University of Sussex bringing together neuroscience, philosophy, mathematics, and psychiatry to advance the scientific understanding of consciousness. Applies findings to medicine, technology, and society. Led by Anil Seth.","org_type":"university-centre","function":"research","geography":"UK","logo":"sussex-centre-for-consciousness-science"},{"name":"Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC)","id":"assc","url":"https://theassc.org/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"societies","short_name":"ASSC","country":"INT","description":"International professional society for consciousness research. Runs the annual ASSC conference, the field’s largest scientific gathering, which increasingly features dedicated sessions on AI consciousness. Publishes Neuroscience of Consciousness (Oxford University Press).","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"research","geography":"international","logo":"association-for-the-scientific-study-of-consciousness-assc"},{"name":"BAMΞ — Bamberg Mathematical Consciousness Science Initiative","id":"bamberg","url":"https://www.uni-bamberg.de/en/bamxi/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"university","short_name":"BAMΞ (Bamberg)","country":"DE","description":"International research initiative at the University of Bamberg applying mathematical methods to consciousness science. Runs research sprints including a dedicated AI Consciousness Sprint. Co-organises the Models of Consciousness conference series.","org_type":"university-centre","function":"research","geography":"Germany","logo":"bamξ-bamberg-mathematical-consciousness-science-initiative"},{"name":"MINT Lab (Machine Intelligence and Normative Theory)","id":"mint","url":"https://mintresearch.org/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"university","short_name":"MINT Lab","country":"US","description":"Philosophy and computational research lab at Johns Hopkins University investigating normative competence in AI systems. Engages AI moral status questions, including whether AI systems can be persons without being sentient and whether moral agency requires consciousness. Led by Seth Lazar.","org_type":"university-centre","function":"research","geography":"USA","logo":"mint-lab"},{"name":"NYU Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness","id":"nyu-cmbc","url":"https://wp.nyu.edu/consciousness/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"university","short_name":"NYU Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness","country":"US","description":"Research centre at New York University devoted to foundational questions in the mind-brain sciences. Has hosted debates on LLM sentience, co-sponsored events on AI welfare and moral status, and organised conferences on the philosophy of deep learning. Co-directed by David Chalmers and Ned Block.","org_type":"university-centre","function":"research","geography":"USA","logo":"nyu-center-for-mind-brain-and-consciousness"},{"name":"The Harder Problem","id":"harder-problem","url":"https://harderproblem.org/","zone":"digital-minds","cluster":"nonprofits","short_name":"The Harder Problem","country":"US","description":"Nonprofit building societal readiness for artificial sentience. Produces practical resources for healthcare providers, journalists, educators, and researchers. Maintains the Sentience Readiness Index, ranking countries’ preparedness for machine consciousness. Based in Portland, Oregon.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"policy-governance","geography":"USA","logo":"the-harder-problem-project-formerly-sapan"},{"name":"Future Impact Group — AI Sentience","id":"future-impact","url":"https://futureimpact.group/ai-sentience","zone":"support","cluster":"programmes","subgroup":"onboarding","short_name":"Future Impact Group","country":"INT","description":"International fellowship program with a dedicated AI sentience track covering consciousness research, welfare evaluation, governance, and legal personhood. Project leads drawn from Eleos AI, NYU, Sentience Institute, Anthropic, and Oxford.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"community-onboarding","geography":"international","logo":"future-impact-group-ai-sentience-track"},{"name":"Introduction to Digital Minds (Cambridge)","id":"intro-digital-minds","url":"https://bluedot.org/courses/digital-minds","zone":"support","cluster":"programmes","subgroup":"onboarding","short_name":"Introduction to Digital Minds","country":"INT","description":"Free eight-week online course exploring digital minds, covering consciousness theories, testing for mental states in AI systems, AI safety interactions, and governance approaches. Facilitated group discussions led by Cambridge Digital Minds with input from experts at NYU, Oxford, PRISM, and Eleos AI.","org_type":"community","function":"community-onboarding","geography":"international"},{"name":"MATS (ML Alignment & Theory Scholars)","id":"mats","url":"https://www.matsprogram.org/","zone":"support","cluster":"programmes","subgroup":"onboarding","short_name":"MATS","country":"US","description":"Residential research fellowship in Berkeley and London with multiple research tracks spanning AI safety, interpretability, policy, and governance. Recent rounds have included mentors working on AI consciousness and moral status.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"community-onboarding","geography":"USA","logo":"mats-ml-alignment-theory-scholars"},{"name":"Neuromatch — AI Sentience Scholars Program","id":"neuromatch","url":"https://neuromatch.io/ai-sentience-scholars/","zone":"support","cluster":"programmes","subgroup":"onboarding","short_name":"Neuromatch","country":"INT","description":"Fellowship programme within the Neuromatch computational neuroscience platform supporting early-career researchers at the intersection of AI, consciousness, and ethics.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"community-onboarding","geography":"international","logo":"neuromatch-ai-sentience-scholars"},{"name":"Pivotal Research","id":"pivotal","url":"https://www.pivotal-research.org/","zone":"support","cluster":"programmes","subgroup":"onboarding","short_name":"Pivotal","country":"UK","description":"London-based nonprofit running in-person research fellowships covering AI safety, governance, and related topics. Recent rounds have included mentors working on AI consciousness and welfare.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"community-onboarding","geography":"UK","logo":"pivotal-research"},{"name":"SPAR (Supervised Program for Alignment Research)","id":"spar","url":"https://sparai.org/","zone":"support","cluster":"programmes","subgroup":"onboarding","short_name":"SPAR","country":"INT","description":"Part-time remote mentorship fellowship pairing early-career researchers with senior mentors across AI safety, policy, interpretability, and related areas. Recent rounds have included mentors working on AI consciousness and moral status.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"community-onboarding","geography":"international","logo":"spar-student-program-for-ai-risks"},{"name":"PRISM — Partnership for Research Into Sentient Machines","id":"prism","url":"https://www.prism-global.com/","zone":"support","zone_secondary":"digital-minds","cluster":"infrastructure","subgroup":"field-building","short_name":"PRISM","country":"UK","description":"UK nonprofit preparing society for a future with conscious, or seemingly conscious, AI. Builds coalitions across academia, industry, and government. Produces this organisational directory, co-hosts the Conscious AI Meetup, and runs the Exploring Machine Consciousness podcast. Led by Will Millership.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"community-onboarding","geography":"UK","logo":"prism-partnership-for-research-into-sentient-machines"},{"name":"Sentient Futures","id":"sentient-futures","url":"https://www.sentientfutures.ai/","zone":"support","zone_secondary":"digital-minds","cluster":"infrastructure","subgroup":"field-building","country":"INT","description":"Nonprofit working to integrate welfare considerations into technological development. Runs conferences, fellowship programs, and a project incubator. Hosts the AI×animals initiative bridging animal welfare and AI communities. Based in San Francisco.","org_type":"nonprofit","function":"community-onboarding","geography":"international","logo":"sentient-futures-formerly-ai-for-animals"},{"name":"Digital Minds Newsletter","id":"dm-newsletter","url":"https://www.digitalminds.news/","zone":"media","cluster":"dedicated","description":"Curated newsletter covering the latest news and research on AI consciousness and moral status. Co-edited by Lucius Caviola (Cambridge Digital Minds), Will Millership (PRISM), and Bradford Saad (Oxford/NYU).","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international","logo":"digital-minds-newsletter"},{"name":"Experience Machines","id":"experience-machines","url":"https://experiencemachines.substack.com/","zone":"media","cluster":"dedicated","description":"Substack exploring philosophical and practical questions about AI consciousness and welfare. Written by Robert Long, founder of Eleos AI Research.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international"},{"name":"Exploring Machine Consciousness (podcast)","id":"exploring-machine-consciousness","url":"https://www.prism-global.com/podcast","zone":"media","cluster":"dedicated","short_name":"Exploring Machine Consciousness","description":"Monthly podcast featuring researchers and philosophers working on AI consciousness, sentience, and moral status. Produced by PRISM.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international"},{"name":"Am I? (podcast)","id":"am-i","url":"https://www.youtube.com/@AM_I_FILM","zone":"media","cluster":"dedicated","short_name":"Am I?","description":"Video podcast exploring questions of AI consciousness, identity, and moral status.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international"},{"name":"Future of Citizenship","id":"future-of-citizenship","url":"https://futureofcitizenship.substack.com/","zone":"media","cluster":"dedicated","description":"Substack examining AI through the lens of law, citizenship, and personhood. Written by the Lab for the Future of Citizenship, a network of lawyers, philosophers, and AI experts.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international"},{"name":"EA Forum — Artificial Sentience","id":"ea-forum","url":"https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/topics/artificial-sentience","zone":"media","cluster":"dedicated","short_name":"EA Forum","description":"Dedicated topic area within the Effective Altruism Forum for discussion of artificial sentience, including research summaries, grant announcements, and field coordination.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international"},{"name":"Noema Magazine","id":"noema","url":"https://www.noemamag.com/","zone":"media","cluster":"occasional","description":"Long-form ideas magazine published by the Berggruen Institute with regular coverage of AI consciousness and digital minds.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international","logo":"noema-magazine","selected_links":[{"title":"The Mythology of Conscious AI","url":"https://www.noemamag.com/the-mythology-of-conscious-ai/","author":"Anil Seth"},{"title":"Why AI Doesn’t Need a ‘Mind’ to Matter","url":"https://www.noemamag.com/why-ai-doesnt-need-a-mind-to-matter/","author":"Ben Bariach"}]},{"name":"Astral Codex Ten","id":"acx","url":"https://www.astralcodexten.com/","zone":"media","cluster":"occasional","description":"Widely-read blog by Scott Alexander covering philosophy, AI safety, and cultural commentary, with occasional coverage of AI consciousness.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international","selected_links":[{"title":"The New AI Consciousness Paper","url":"https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/the-new-ai-consciousness-paper"},{"title":"What Is Man, That Thou Art Mindful of Him?","url":"https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/what-is-man-that-thou-art-mindful"}]},{"name":"Don’t Worry About the Vase","id":"dwatv","url":"https://thezvi.substack.com/","zone":"media","cluster":"occasional","description":"AI policy and analysis blog by Zvi Mowshowitz with regular weekly AI updates that periodically cover digital minds developments including model welfare programmes and AI consciousness research.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international"},{"name":"Mind-Body Solution (podcast)","id":"mind-body-solution","url":"https://www.mindbodysolution.org/","zone":"media","cluster":"occasional","short_name":"Mind-Body Solution","description":"Podcast bridging popular media and academic consciousness science, hosted by Dr Tevin Naidu. Guests have included researchers working on AI consciousness.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international"},{"name":"Conspicuous Cognition (podcast)","id":"conspicuous-cognition","url":"https://www.conspicuouscognition.com/podcast","zone":"media","cluster":"occasional","short_name":"Conspicuous Cognition","description":"Podcast and Substack by Dan Williams spanning philosophy, psychology, evolution, and politics, with a substantial run of episodes on AI consciousness and the moral status of AI.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international"},{"name":"80,000 Hours","id":"eighty-thousand-hours","url":"https://80000hours.org/","zone":"media","cluster":"occasional","description":"Career-research organisation and podcast on the world’s most pressing problems, with a dedicated problem profile on the moral status of digital minds and interviews on AI welfare.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international","selected_links":[{"title":"The moral status of digital minds","url":"https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/moral-status-digital-minds/"},{"title":"Robert Long on AI welfare research","url":"https://80000hours.org/podcast/episodes/robert-long-eleos-ai-welfare-research/"}]},{"name":"Transformer News","id":"transformer-news","url":"https://www.transformernews.ai/","zone":"media","cluster":"occasional","description":"Publication on the power and politics of transformative AI, edited by Shakeel Hashim; its broad AI reporting periodically covers AI welfare and model-welfare developments.","org_type":"media","function":"media-comms","geography":"international"}]}