Arvind Narayanan is the director of the Princeton Web Transparency and Accountability Project, which focuses on uncovering how companies collect and use personal information. His recent research highlights the limitations and risks of AI, particularly in reflecting cultural stereotypes and the potential for de-anonymization of data.
He launched the AI Snake Oil newsletter in 2022, which aims to dismantle distorted and exaggerated claims about AI capabilities. With over 13,000 subscribers, his work has been widely read and respected. He’s currently under contract to write a book on the same topic, scheduled for publication in 2024.
Narayanan has also been involved in various projects related to cryptocurrencies and tech policy. He co-created a Massive Open Online Course and textbook on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency technologies, which has been used in over 150 courses worldwide.
In 2010, Narayanan and Jonathan Mayer advocated for the Do Not Track feature in HTTP headers, developing prototypes for clients and servers and contributing to the influential Internet Engineering Task Force Internet Draft on the subject.