Helen Edwards is a co-founder of the Artificiality Institute, a nonprofit research organization shaping the human experience in a world of synthetic intelligence. Through story-based research, experimental design, and cultural dialogue, she explores how humans and AI co-evolve—not just for efficiency, but for meaning. The Institute imagines a future where diverse intelligences inspire awe, emergent consciousness evokes wonder, and new minds exist in symbiosis with our own.

 

Helen is extending her research as a Visiting Researcher at the UC Berkeley Center for Human-Compatible AI. In addition to her work at the Artificiality Institute, she serves as a Commissioner on the State of Oregon's Higher Education Coordinating Commission.

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For over a decade, Helen has studied how AI transforms human lives, translating insights into new frameworks for human-AI symbiosis and designing human-centered AI. She previously co-founded Intelligentsia.ai, an AI-focused market research firm, which was acquired by Atlantic Media. Helen’s experience includes transformative work in critical infrastructure—leading dynamic, customer-centered technology initiatives as CIO of New Zealand’s national grid and in executive roles at Pacific Gas & Electric and Fonterra.