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Prominent AI Researcher Timnit Gebru Named 2026 Right Livelihood Award Recipient

Addis Standard · 5 hours ago · Read the Full Story on Addis Standard
Prominent AI Researcher Timnit Gebru Named 2026 Right Livelihood Award Recipient
AI SUMMARY

Ethiopian-born computer scientist and AI researcher Timnit Gebru has been named a recipient of the 2026 Right Livelihood Award for her work challenging concentrated power in artificial intelligence and advocating for marginalized communities.

  • Timnit Gebru has been named a recipient of the 2026 Right Livelihood Award.
  • The Stockholm-based Right Livelihood Foundation announced the recognition on 30 September.
  • The award recognizes her work exposing the harms of AI and promoting community-led research approaches.
  • Timnit fled the Ethiopian-Eritrean war at age 15 and later earned a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
  • She co-founded Black in AI and previously served as co-lead of Google’s Ethical AI team before her departure in late 2020.
  • In December 2021, she founded the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR).
  • She recently published a book titled Deep Unlearning: The Rise of AI and the Radicalization of a Tech Idealist.
  • The formal 2026 award ceremony is scheduled to take place on December 1 in Stockholm.