Machine Intelligence Research Institute Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 582565917
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Phone
- 5103062463
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Computer Science
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,534,913
- Expenses
- $6,508,701
- Assets
- $16,493,789
- Liabilities
- $1,251,574
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MALO BOURGON (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
- NATE SOARES (PRESIDENT)
- ALEXANDER VERMEER (DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE, COO)
Highest reported compensation
- ELIEZER YUDKOWSKY (CHAIR, HEAD RESEARCHER): $611,988 total reported compensation
- SCOTT GARRABRANT (EMPLOYEE): $519,569 total reported compensation
- ABRAM DEMSKI (EMPLOYEE): $302,026 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To ensure that the creation of smarter-than-human intelligence has a positive impact. Thus, the charitable purpose of the organization is to: a) perform research relevant to ensuring that smarter-than-human intelligence has a positive impact; b) raise awareness of this important issue; c) advise researchers, leasers and laypeople around the world; d) as necessary, implement a smarter-than-human intelligence with humane, stable goals.
What it reported doing in 2024
Research program activities - our research team conducts technical research and analysis in service of ai governance goals to avoid catastrophic and extinction risks. Technical governance research explores the technical questions that bear on regulatory and policy goals, identifying and communicating policy solutions to risks from artificial superintelligence. 2024 publications include "what ai evaluations for preventing catastrophic risks can and cannot do", "mechanisms to verify international agreements about ai development", and "declare and justify: explicit assumptions in ai evaluations are necessary for effective regulation".
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 72
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 76.9%; rating input score 77
- Fundraising efficiency: $26.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -324%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.53; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 51.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 18.6% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 76.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $612K · 15 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.