Alondra Nelson

On September 22, the Institute officially began its 2025–26 academic year, bringing together scholars from around the globe to pursue a range of individual and collaborative projects. The 259 visiting scholars, representing 39 nations and more than 108 institutions, will work alongside the 26 permanent Faculty and 22 Emeriti, all of whom are leaders in their respective fields.

In a recent article for Science, Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science, proposes an approach to artificial intelligence’s unchecked proliferation and escalating harms: a reapplication of the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) program developed for the Human Genome Project.

Does artificial intelligence have a role to play in pure mathematics—the kind of math still worked out on blackboards over decades? To interrogate this question, The New York Times spoke to IAS scholars from diverse disciplinary perspectives: Members Patrick Shafto (2021–23) and Andrew Granville (1989–91, 2007, 2009–10) in the School of Mathematics, and Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science.

Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science, was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Amherst College for "redefining how science serves our shared human dignity" and "illuminating the way toward a more humane technological age."

In an article for TIME Magazine, Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science, has announced her resignation from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council. Nelson, who was appointed to the National Science Board in 2024 and the Scholars Council in 2023, outlined the factors behind her decision.

A United Nations report released in September 2024 proposed that the international body should oversee the first truly global effort for monitoring and governing artificial intelligence. Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science, who served on the UN advisory body, gave comments on the findings.