Career and contribution
Nitzberg has held roles in academia,industry,and technology development. As of 2025,he serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence at UC Berkeley, [6] [7] and as an advisor to the Berkeley AI Research Lab (BAIR). He is the Director of Technology Research at the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE). [3]
In industry,Nitzberg has contributed to the development of AI technologies in healthcare,finance,education,and sustainable development. He was the founding Chief Technology Officer of Smartleaf,a company specializing in automating investment portfolio management at scale. He has also worked at Bell Laboratories,and was employee number 44 at Microsoft. He later worked at Amazon,where he held various roles. Nitzberge co-invented a patented method for encoding auxiliary data within a source signal,which has applications in digital watermarking and image security.
In a 2020 interview as part of the Future of Work Series at UC Davis,Nitzberg reflected on his career in artificial intelligence and shared insights into his educational background,professional experiences,and thoughts on the societal impacts of technology. He credited early mentorship from pioneers like Marvin Minsky and Joseph Weizenbaum for shaping his perspectives on AI,particularly the philosophical challenges of creating human-like intelligence. Nitzberg emphasized the importance of cultivating adaptability and lifelong learning. He advocated for a broad-based education in liberal arts and sciences. He discussed his career decisions,including his choice to leave Microsoft as employee number 44,which he noted,while financially suboptimal,allowed him to pursue ventures aligned with his passions. Nitzberg recommended books like Rebooting AI by Gary Marcus and Human Compatible by Stuart Russell as important reads for understanding the future of AI. [8]
In July 2024,Nitzberg delivered a keynote address titled "US’Approach to AI Governance," in which he outlined the challenges and principles surrounding the regulation of artificial intelligence in the United States. Speaking as the Executive Director of the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence at UC Berkeley,he described AI as the largest and most capable general-purpose digital system ever created,yet one with minimal regulation in the U.S. Nitzberg highlighted the complexities of regulating AI due to its black-box nature and general-purpose applications,as well as the interplay between federal,state,and international regulatory efforts. He discussed ongoing initiatives such as the Schumer AI roadmap,California's SP 1047 bill,and existing sectoral laws,while emphasizing the importance of balancing innovation with safety. Nitzberg also advocated for global collaboration in AI governance and described his center's work on long-term strategies for ensuring AI safety,including transparent,explainable systems and formal verification methods. [9]
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