Laboratory for Social Minds at Carnegie Mellon University
The Laboratory for Social Minds, directed by Professor Simon DeDeo at Carnegie Mellon University's Department of Social and Decision Sciences, conducts interdisciplinary research combining mathematical theory, data science, and experimental methods to study complex social and cognitive phenomena. The lab's work spans centuries-long timescales of cultural evolution to second-by-second emergence of social hierarchy, examining topics from the cognitive science of explanation-making and mathematical proof to the dynamics of political order, cooperation, and conflict. Recent research has investigated how AI systems may undermine human cooperation mechanisms, and a major new project funded by the John Templeton Foundation explores how mathematical cognition will change in the AI era.
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Theory of Change
The Laboratory for Social Minds contributes to understanding long-term existential risk through basic research on how human social systems evolve, how collective intelligence and cooperation function, and how these dynamics may be disrupted or transformed by advanced AI systems. By building rigorous mathematical models of social phenomena such as trust, cooperation, political order, and cultural evolution, the lab provides foundational knowledge about the mechanisms that hold human societies together. Their recent work on how AI undermines 'mental proof' mechanisms for cooperation directly addresses how advanced AI could erode the social fabric that enables coordinated human responses to global challenges. The lab's theory of change is that deep understanding of human social cognition and its interaction with AI systems is a prerequisite for navigating the transition to a world with transformative AI.
Grants Received
from Survival and Flourishing Fund
from Survival and Flourishing Fund
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Details
- Last Updated
- Apr 2, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC
- Created
- Mar 18, 2026, 11:18 PM UTC