People
Updated 05/18/26President
Co-founder, Dads Against AGI Inc. (501(c)(3) behind GuardRailNow / The AI Risk Network)
Co-host, Am I? (AI consciousness podcast)
Co-host, Warning Shots (AI Risk Network news show)
Co-host, Warning Shots (AI Risk Network news show)
Co-host, Am I? (AI consciousness podcast)
Board Member, GuardRailNow / Managing Director at Center for AI Safety
Board Member, GuardRailNow (legal entity for The AI Risk Network)
Funding Details
Updated 05/18/26- Annual Budget
- -
- Current Runway
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- Funding Goal
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- Funding Raised to Date
- $30,000
Org Details
Updated 05/18/26The AI Risk Network (ARN) is a Baltimore-based nonprofit communications organization dedicated to making AI extinction risk a mainstream public concern. It operates under the legal entity Dads Against AGI Inc., which is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 99-4857285) doing business as Guardrail Now. The organization was founded by John Sherman, a Peabody, duPont-Columbia, and multi-Emmy Award-winning former investigative journalist. The network's central mission is to move the conversation about advanced AI risk out of academic and Silicon Valley circles and bring it to ordinary people across America and globally. They pursue this through a portfolio of media properties: the flagship For Humanity podcast and YouTube show, the weekly AI risk news recap Warning Shots, the parenting-focused Unsafe Mode, the comedy show Last Laugh, and the documentary series Am I?, which explores AI consciousness. Across platforms including YouTube, Substack, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, the network has amassed over 300,000 subscribers. The organization is headquartered at 506 South Dallas Street, Baltimore, MD 21231. It is deliberately positioned outside the dominant tech and policy hubs, emphasizing that AI risk communication should not be filtered through insider bubbles. The board of directors includes Oliver Zhang (co-founder of the Center for AI Safety), Louis Berman (co-founder of Dads Against AGI), and Roman Yampolskiy; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend serves as a senior advisor. The operational team includes a COO, content and production manager, content writer, video editor, and campaign coordinators. The organization is a small early-stage nonprofit that files Form 990-N, indicating annual receipts below approximately $50,000. They have raised roughly $30,000 in grassroots donations and are supported through listener contributions via Every.org and the Manifund platform. Their strategy combines earned media appearances, conference panels, and targeted advertising campaigns to scale their reach.
Theory of Change
Updated 05/18/26ARN believes that a key bottleneck in reducing AI existential risk is the lack of public awareness and political will outside of specialized circles. By producing compelling, accessible media content for general audiences — using techniques from journalism, comedy, and documentary filmmaking — the organization aims to build a broad public constituency that pressures policymakers and AI developers to act more cautiously. Their causal chain runs: engaging content reaches everyday people, those people become informed and concerned, that concern translates into civic action and political pressure, and that pressure enables stronger AI safety regulations and industry norms.
Grants Received– no grants recorded
Updated 05/18/26Projects
Updated 05/18/26An AI consciousness–focused podcast from The AI Risk Network, hosted by AI safety researcher Cameron Berg and philosopher Milo Reed, exploring whether and how advanced AI systems might be conscious.
Flagship podcast from The AI Risk Network, hosted by John Sherman, that explains AI extinction risk and worst-case scenarios in accessible language for non-technical listeners.
A comedy-forward show from The AI Risk Network, hosted by John Sherman with rotating stand-up comedians, using humor to engage people with AI extinction risk.
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