named programs · 4 · from sources
What they call their work
Animals, Food, and Technology (AFT) Survey
Longitudinal nationally representative survey tracking U.S. public attitudes toward animals, food, and technology, with data collected in 2019, 2020, 2021, and planned for 2023.
Artificial Intelligence, Morality, and Sentience (AIMS) Survey
Nationally representative survey on U.S. attitudes toward AI and moral consideration of digital minds, with first data collection in 2021 and follow-up planned for 2023.
Digital Minds Cause Profile
Series of blog posts and research synthesizing the moral relevance of artificial sentience, aiming to inform future advocacy and policy.
Moral Circle Expansion Research
Interdisciplinary research program analyzing historical, psychological, and social factors influencing the expansion of moral consideration to nonhuman and artificial entities.
activities · 4 groups
What they do
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AI Governance and Ethical Research 3 activities
- Conducting experimental research on moral consideration of artificial entitiesDesigns and conducts experiments using conjoint analysis and preregistered online studies to analyze how design features (e.g., human-like bodies, prosociality) and perceived autonomy influence moral consideration of artificial intelligences and digital minds. Published findings showing key drivers of moral concern and risk perception.
- Conducting longitudinal survey research on public attitudes toward artificial intelligence, morality, and sentienceConducts and maintains nationally representative surveys (Artificial Intelligence, Morality, and Sentience Survey) since 2021, with follow-up in 2023, to study U.S. public perceptions of AI, moral consideration of sentient AI, trust, regulatory preferences, and perceived risks. Makes survey data publicly available for independent research.
- Producing and publishing open-access research on digital minds and AI ethicsWrites and publishes peer-reviewed papers, literature reviews, and blog posts on digital minds, artificial sentience, robot autonomy, and societal implications of AI. All research is made freely available; participates in the Center for Open Science’s Open Data badge program to promote transparency.
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Organizational Newsletter Production and Distribution 1 activity
- Distributing research updates via newsletterShares updates on research and organizational activities through a newsletter distributed at an average frequency of one to two emails per year.
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Animal Protection Advocacy & Campaigns 1 activity
- Maintaining global and national estimates of farmed animal populationsCollects, maintains, and updates estimates of factory-farmed animals in the United States and globally, providing data resources for researchers and advocates focused on animal welfare and food system change.
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Uncategorized 2 activities
- Conducting longitudinal survey research on public attitudes toward animals, food, and technologyConducts and maintains longitudinal nationally representative surveys (Animals, Food, and Technology Survey) since 2017, with data collected in 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2025, to study U.S. public attitudes toward animal farming, food technology, and related social changes. Makes all survey data publicly available for independent research.
- Conducting research on moral circle expansion and spillover effectsProduces literature reviews, experiments, and peer-reviewed publications on moral circle expansion—how societal norms and policies extend moral concern to new groups—and studies moral spillover, where concern for one group extends to others. Published key papers in Futures and Science and Engineering Ethics.
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financials · form 990EZ · fy2025
revenue
Total revenue$54K
Contributions & grants$48K89%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$6K11%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$170K
Program expenses100%
Admin / overhead0%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$80K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$302K
Cash$19K
Investments$292K
Liabilities$0
Net assets$302K
Liquid reserves21.9 mo
6 years on record · 2020–2025 · YoY revenue +0.7%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2025
Who runs it
board members · 4
- Jacy Anthis — Director
- Jorge Lugo — Director
- Kelly Anthis — Director
- Sean Richardson — Director
relationships · 16
Who they work with
- ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Partner — Presented research at the CHI conference, the flagship event in human-computer interaction.
- ACM SIGCHI Partner — Published research in the Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
- Ali Ladak Partner — Researcher and co-author on multiple Sentience Institute surveys and publications
- Animal Charity Evaluators Partner — Collaborates on or references case study research, including analysis of the environmentalist movement.
- British Journal of Social Psychology Partner — Published research by Sentience Institute in a peer-reviewed academic journal.
- Center for Open Science Network — Participant in the Center for Open Science's Open Data badge program.
- Center for Open Science Partner — Participates in the Center for Open Science's Open Data badge program.
- Center for Open Science Partner — Partner organization through participation in the Open Data badge program.
- DeepMind Partner — Referenced as a group working toward artificial general intelligence, relevant to Sentience Institute's research on digital minds.
- Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) lab at the University of Chicago Partner — Collaborated on the research and publication of “A Taxonomy of Robot Autonomy for Human-Robot Interaction”
- Jacy Reese Anthis Partner — Researcher and frequent co-author on multiple Sentience Institute reports
- Jamie Harris Partner — Researcher and author of multiple Sentience Institute literature reviews and case studies
- Janet Pauketat Partner — Researcher and co-author on multiple Sentience Institute surveys and publications
- OpenAI Partner — Referenced as a group working toward artificial general intelligence, relevant to Sentience Institute's research on digital minds.
- Public Performance & Management Review Network — Journal in which Sentience Institute published its peer-reviewed research on public opinion and AI regulation.
- info@sentienceinstitute.org Partner — Contact point for collaboration with academics and organizations conducting similar research.
strategies · 3
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Design- and Perception-Driven Moral Inclusion of Digital Mindsmethodology: design-informed perception managementBy shaping AI design and public perception through empirical research on human-robot interaction, the organization promotes moral consideration of digital minds, because human perceptions of agency, mind, and moral status in AI can be influenced by design choices and cultural narratives about sentient futures.
- Longtermist Research Prioritization for S-Risk Preventionmethodology: longtermismBy focusing research and advocacy on long-term future risks—particularly s-risks (astronomical suffering) and sentient AI—the organization maximizes expected impact, because preventing large-scale suffering in plausible future scenarios outweighs short-term interventions under a suffering-focused, longtermist ethical framework.
- Moral Circle Expansion via Perceived Individuation and Prosocialitymethodology: individuation-and-moral-considerationBy studying how individuation and prosocial traits (e.g., emotion expression, cooperation) influence moral consideration, the organization advances moral circle expansion, because perceiving beings—as human or non-human—as individuals with positive intentions increases moral concern and reduces perceived threat.