Research

UC Berkeley scholars push the boundaries of innovation, shaping intelligent systems that drive transformative progress. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, Berkeley pioneers the future of ethical, scalable, and impactful artificial intelligence while critically examining AI and advocating for the public good.

News on Applied AI Research for the Public Good

Read feature stories about how, across academic disciplines and administrative departments, Berkeley researchers are shaping AI's use for the public good. See also Berkeley AI research news and AI news from across the UC System.

Faculty Expertise Finder

Search among our 1,500 faculty with a keyword search using terms like, "computational science," "machine learning," "algorithmic bias," "energy," "artificial intelligence," and more.

AI Research Centers and Programs

Algorithmic Fairness and Opacity Group

The Algorithmic Fairness and Opacity Group (AFOG) is an interdisciplinary research group housed at the UC Berkeley School of Information, bringing together faculty, postdocs, and graduate students from Information Studies, Sociology, Law, Communication, Media Studies, Computer Science, and the Humanities, among others. Formed in 2017, we conduct research, provide education, develop policy, build systems, bring theory into practice, and bridge disciplinary boundaries. Throughout our efforts, we center human values in the design and use of technical systems to support more equitable and just societies.

Baker Institute for Digital Materials for the Planet

The Bakar Institute of Digital Materials for the Planet (BIDMaP) accelerates the discovery, development, and deployment of advanced materials to address some of the most urgent challenges facing our planet. By combining cutting-edge chemistry with AI, machine learning, and robotics, BIDMaP is reimagining how materials can be designed and optimized for clean energy, clean air, clean water, advanced batteries, and sustainable chemical production.

Berkeley AI Research Lab (BAIR)

BAIR is the world's most advanced academic AI research lab. It is comprised of more than 50 UC Berkeley faculty and 300+ graduate students across the areas of computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing, planning, control, robotics, and more. Projects include: Open Research Commons, Climate Initiative, HBCU Research Experience for Undergraduates, Deep Drive, Responsible AI Initiative

Berkeley Center for Law & Technology (BCLT)

The #1 nationally ranked tech IP law program for over 20 years. Professors, instructors, and students are immersed daily in the opportunities, challenges, and threats that new technologies bring to society. Centers include: AI, Platforms, and Society Center, Center for Technology, Justice, and the Courts, IP & Competition Center, Privacy & Cybersecurity Center

Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS)

BIDS is a central hub of data-intensive research, open source software, and data science training programs at UC Berkeley.

Berkeley Lab

Through advanced computation, network facilities, and data integration, Berkeley Lab is advancing the foundations of powerful new AI capabilities and using AI for discoveries in materials, energy, chemistry, physics, biology, climate science, and more. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory managed by the University of California.

Berkeley Emergent Space Tensegrities Lab (BEST Lab)

The BEST Lab conducts research at the intersection of cutting-edge frontiers in design research, computational design, sustainability, gender equity, human-machine cognition, supervisory control, soft robotics, sensor fusion, design research and intelligent learning systems.

Berkeley Risk and Security Lab

The Berkeley Risk and Security Lab seeks to bring robust academic research at the intersection of technology and security into policy spaces worldwide, while providing a common resource for learning, exploration, and engagement to the UC Berkeley campus, broader academic community, and public and private sectors.

C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute

The C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute is a research consortium dedicated to accelerating the benefits of artificial intelligence for business, government, and society. The Institute is jointly managed and hosted by the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity

Our mission is to amplify the upside of the digital revolution, help decision-makers act with foresight, and expand who has access to and participates in cybersecurity. CLTC acts as a convening platform, translator, and two-way bridge between cutting-edge academic research and the needs of decision-makers in government, industry, and civil society.

Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence (CHAI)

CHAI is a multi-institution research group based at UC Berkeley, with academic affiliates at a variety of other universities. Its mission is to develop the conceptual and technical wherewithal to reorient the general thrust of AI research towards provably beneficial systems.

Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS)

Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS) is a University of California research center focused on creating IT solutions that generate societal and economic benefits for everyone. The CITRIS Tech Policy initiative supports the development and deployment of responsible AI.

FHL Vive Center for Enhanced Reality

The mission of the FHL Vive Center is to sponsor fundamental research and high-impact applications in the emerging fields of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Artificial Intelligence – and to serve as the central hub across the Berkeley campus facilitating the deployment of disruptive VR, AR, and AI technologies for cross-disciplinary research and education.

Human Rights Center

The Technology, Law & Policy Program at Berkeley Law's Human Rights Center relies upon new and emerging technologies, including AI, to conduct digital investigations and build legal cases supporting the work of international criminal prosecutors in national, hybrid, and international courts. The Program bridges the gap between academic research and legal practice, accelerating the speed at which the international criminal justice system adapts to technological change.

Languages and AI Working Group at the Townsend Center for the Humanities

The Languages and AI working group fosters interdisciplinary dialogues on the implications of artificial intelligence for language and language education.

Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic

The Samuelson clinic advances the public interest in a rapidly changing digital age, focusing on civil liberties, intellectual property, and criminal justice. The clinic looks for strategic opportunities in litigation, regulatory and legislative processes to ensure a fair criminal legal system.

Schmidt Center for Data Science & Environment (DSE)

The DSE is a partnership between the Rausser College of Natural Resources and the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society. The Center leverages the power of modern data and environmental science to create a healthy planet where people and nature can thrive.