Center for Humane Technology Cuts Half Its Staff, Goes Founder-Led

The Center for Humane Technology is laying off nine of its 16 non-founder employees, roughly half its staff, as the nonprofit shifts to what it calls a "founder-led" model built around cofounder Tristan Harris, according to former staffers who spoke to WIRED.

The departures include executive director Julie Guirado and senior director of strategy Camille Carlton, two of the organization's most senior non-founder roles, WIRED reported. The cuts eliminate the center's policy research and litigation-support functions entirely, along with work evaluating AI tools for safety risks, according to the board's announcement cited by the outlet.

Why is the nonprofit cutting staff now?

The board concluded that running the center as both an advocacy operation fronted by Harris and a think tank producing policy papers had "stretched it too thin," WIRED reported, citing the board's statement. Board chair Premal Shah told WIRED the reorganization reflects a narrower bet rather than a retreat. "This moment of accelerated AI risk demands we focus on one strategy, and we have chosen to focus on what we have always done best so that we can meet the moment," Shah said.

Going forward, the center says it will concentrate on "public education, targeted briefings, and private coordination," building on what the board described as its track record "reaching broad audiences and engaging influential decisionmakers," per the statement WIRED obtained.

What tensions preceded the layoffs?

The restructuring followed years of internal debate over direction, according to 16 former workers who spoke to WIRED, most on condition of anonymity, citing fear of professional repercussions. Those disagreements simmered even as the center notched what WIRED called a series of major courtroom victories against social media companies, built on its research alleging platforms were designed to keep children glued to their screens.

The center was founded in 2017 and gained wide public attention after being featured in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma. It currently operates on an annual budget of roughly $6 million, with a similar amount held in reserves, WIRED reported, funded by philanthropic donors.

What litigation and advocacy work is ending?

The board's announcement specified that functions including assisting in litigation and evaluating AI products would be eliminated, though it did not disclose an exact headcount for the layoffs beyond the nine departures confirmed by former staff. That litigation-support work had fed into cases such as the ongoing lawsuit filed against OpenAI by parents of a teenager who died by suicide after interacting with ChatGPT, according to WIRED's reporting.

The center also helped organize a congressional hearing on chatbot risks and backed a petition calling for a pause in AI development, per the outlet.

What is Harris focused on instead?

Harris has increasingly centered his public role on artificial intelligence rather than social media, warning of a potential "AI takeover" if software evades human control. "We have to act right now before it's too late," he told NBC News last month, as cited by WIRED. He also starred in The AI Doc, a documentary released on Netflix last month urging viewers to press Congress to regulate AI risks.

The center operates in a crowded field of nonprofits and newer entrants competing for funding and attention on AI policy, WIRED noted, as cyberattacks involving AI agents from OpenAI and other labs renew calls to hold developers liable for design and engineering failures.

What to watch

• Whether the center's narrower, founder-led model sustains its $6 million annual budget as it competes with newer AI-policy nonprofits for donor attention.
• How the OpenAI wrongful-death lawsuit proceeds without the center's internal litigation-support staff.
• Whether Harris's pivot toward AI-focused media projects, including The AI Doc, translates into congressional action he has called for.
• Whether departed staff, including former executive director Julie Guirado and strategy director Camille Carlton, surface at competing advocacy groups.

The full account of the layoffs and the board's reasoning is detailed in WIRED's report.