Anthropic Launches Anthropic Institute to Study AI Risks

The new business unit will bring together Anthropic's teams focused on AI cybersecurity, societal impacts, and economic research.

Mar. 12, 2026 at 1:19am

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Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company, has announced the formation of the Anthropic Institute, a new business unit tasked with studying the risks posed by AI technology. The institute will bring together three of Anthropic's existing teams - the Frontier Red Team, the Societal Impacts team, and the Economic Research unit - under the leadership of co-founder Jack Clark, who has been appointed as the company's head of public benefit.

Why it matters

As AI systems become more advanced and ubiquitous, there are growing concerns about the potential risks and negative impacts they may have on cybersecurity, society, and the economy. The Anthropic Institute aims to proactively address these concerns by conducting research and developing strategies to mitigate the risks associated with AI.

The details

The Frontier Red Team will focus on studying AI-related cybersecurity risks, including using Claude, Anthropic's AI agent, to scan for vulnerabilities in software like Firefox. The Societal Impacts team will collect data on how users interact with Claude and evaluate when workers allow AI to perform tasks autonomously. The Economic Research unit will study the economic impact of AI, publishing Anthropic's Economic Index report on the business activities being automated with Claude.

  • Anthropic announced the formation of the Anthropic Institute on March 11, 2026.
  • The company plans to open an office for its Public Policy team in Washington, D.C. this spring.

The players

Anthropic

An artificial intelligence company that has announced the formation of the Anthropic Institute to study the risks posed by AI technology.

Jack Clark

Anthropic's co-founder who has been appointed as the company's head of public benefit and will lead the Anthropic Institute.

Matt Botvinick

A former senior director of research at Google DeepMind who has been hired by Anthropic to join the Anthropic Institute.

Zoë Hitzig

A former OpenAI Group PBC researcher who has joined the Anthropic Institute to connect the company's economics work to model training and development.

Anton Korinek

An economics professor who has joined the Anthropic Institute to lead a project focused on understanding how AI could reshape the nature of economic activity.

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What they’re saying

“We must not let individuals continue to damage private property in San Francisco.”

— Robert Jenkins, San Francisco resident (San Francisco Chronicle)

What’s next

Anthropic plans to grow the headcount of the Anthropic Institute and its Public Policy team, including opening an office for the Public Policy team in Washington, D.C. this spring. The company also plans to expand its policy work in international markets.

The takeaway

The formation of the Anthropic Institute underscores the growing concerns around the potential risks and negative impacts of AI technology, and Anthropic's commitment to proactively addressing these issues through research and policy development.