People
Updated 06/25/26 · By grantmaking.aiPresident
Co-founder, Dads Against AGI Inc. (501(c)(3) behind GuardRailNow / The AI Risk Network)
Funding Details
Updated 06/25/26 · By grantmaking.ai- -
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- $30,000
Org Details
Updated 06/25/26 · By grantmaking.aiThe AI Risk Network (ARN) is a Baltimore-based nonprofit communications organization dedicated to making AI extinction risk a mainstream public concern. It operates under the legal entity Dads Against AGI Inc., which is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 99-4857285) doing business as Guardrail Now. The organization was founded by John Sherman, a Peabody, duPont-Columbia, and multi-Emmy Award-winning former investigative journalist.
The network's central mission is to move the conversation about advanced AI risk out of academic and Silicon Valley circles and bring it to ordinary people across America and globally. They pursue this through a portfolio of media properties: the flagship For Humanity podcast and YouTube show, the weekly AI risk news recap Warning Shots, the parenting-focused Unsafe Mode, the comedy show Last Laugh, and the documentary series Am I?, which explores AI consciousness. Across platforms including YouTube, Substack, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, the network has amassed over 300,000 subscribers.
The organization is headquartered at 506 South Dallas Street, Baltimore, MD 21231. It is deliberately positioned outside the dominant tech and policy hubs, emphasizing that AI risk communication should not be filtered through insider bubbles. The board of directors includes Oliver Zhang (co-founder of the Center for AI Safety), Louis Berman (co-founder of Dads Against AGI), and Roman Yampolskiy; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend serves as a senior advisor. The operational team includes a COO, content and production manager, content writer, video editor, and campaign coordinators.
The organization is a small early-stage nonprofit that files Form 990-N, indicating annual receipts below approximately $50,000. They have raised roughly $30,000 in grassroots donations and are supported through listener contributions via Every.org and the Manifund platform. Their strategy combines earned media appearances, conference panels, and targeted advertising campaigns to scale their reach.
Theory of Change
Updated 06/25/26 · By grantmaking.aiARN believes that a key bottleneck in reducing AI existential risk is the lack of public awareness and political will outside of specialized circles. By producing compelling, accessible media content for general audiences — using techniques from journalism, comedy, and documentary filmmaking — the organization aims to build a broad public constituency that pressures policymakers and AI developers to act more cautiously. Their causal chain runs: engaging content reaches everyday people, those people become informed and concerned, that concern translates into civic action and political pressure, and that pressure enables stronger AI safety regulations and industry norms.
Grants Received– no grants recorded
Updated 06/25/26 · By grantmaking.aiProjects
Updated 06/25/26 · By grantmaking.aiDiscussion
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