Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University is a prestigious private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873 with a $1 million endowment from shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, the university has grown into a major research institution comprising eleven schools and enrolling nearly 13,800 students. In the AI safety and fairness space, Vanderbilt hosts multiple relevant research efforts. The university received a $38,000 grant from the Survival and Flourishing Fund (SFF) in 2024 through the Fairness Track, which supports work ensuring that advanced AI serves fairness and freedom rather than concentrating wealth and power among a privileged few. Notable AI fairness research at Vanderbilt includes work by Jenny L. Davis, the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair and Professor of Sociology, who has developed the concept of algorithmic reparation as an alternative to conventional fairness frameworks. Her forthcoming book The Injustice of Fairness: Algorithmic Reparation and the Case for Redress (UC Press, 2026) challenges fairness as the default standard in algorithmic ethics. She holds a 2024-2026 Non-Resident Fellowship at the Center for Democracy and Technology. In computer science, Tyler Derr leads the Network and Data Science (NDS) Lab, which conducts research on fairness in machine learning and data science for social good. Taylor T. Johnson directs the VeriVITAL (Verification and Validation for Intelligent and Trustworthy Autonomy) Laboratory, which develops formal verification techniques for AI systems, including fairness verification tools. Vanderbilt also operates the Vanderbilt AI Law Lab (VAILL) focused on AI law from a human-centered perspective, and the VALIANT initiative fostering multidisciplinary AI research. In 2026, the university launched the Amplify Generative AI Innovation Center within the College of Connected Computing, and received a $2.5 million Hewlett Foundation grant for research on AI-driven information warfare through the Institute of National Security.