About

I co-direct the AI Disclosures Project with Tim O'Reilly, focused on architecting healthier AI markets through research, collaborations, and prototyping.

I'm a Senior Fellow at the AI Economy Institute at Microsoft Research, an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at UCL's Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, and a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg (SARChI-ID).

My work on digital platforms and AI has been covered by Cory Doctorow, the Financial Times, TechCrunch, Fast Company, and presented to policymakers and AI labs including Anthropic. I serve on the editorial board of Data for Policy.

Research Areas

Market-Architectures Technological Diffusion Macroeconomic Theories of Technology AI Market Design Digital Platform Market Power Big Tech Disclosure Algorithmic Rents Bayesian Econometrics Economic Development Foreign Direct Investment

Education

Ph.D. Economics, The New School for Social Research, New York (2014-2020)
Columbia University coursework: Bayesian Statistics, Macroeconomics, Dynamical Systems
M.Sc. International Development Economics (First Class), SOAS, University of London (2010-2011)
B.Sc. (Honours) Economics and History, University of Cape Town (2005-2007)

Current Affiliations

Co-Director, AI Disclosures Project (with Tim O'Reilly)
Senior Fellow, AI Economy Institute at Microsoft Research
Visiting Associate Professor, University of Johannesburg (SARChI-ID)
Honorary Senior Research Fellow, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
Editorial Board Member, Data for Policy (Cambridge University Press)

Previous Positions

Program Director, AI Disclosures Project, Social Science Research Council (2024-2026)
Head of Digital Economy Research, UCL IIPP (2022-2024)
Lecturer in Macroeconomics, NYU and Rice University (2016-2020)
Expert Consultant, UNCTAD Investment Division (2013-2018)
Expert Consultant, International Labour Organization / African Development Bank (2020-2021)
Economist Consultant, African Development Bank (2013-2014)

Grants & Funding

Rockefeller Foundation - Bellagio Convening on AI Market Standards (April 2026, with Tim O'Reilly)
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation - Grant #2024-22642 (PI, with Tim O'Reilly)
Omidyar Network - $250,000 (Co-PI, with Tim O'Reilly)
Patrick J. McGovern Foundation - $150,000 (Co-PI, with Tim O'Reilly)
Economic Security Project - Anti-Monopoly Fund, $25,000 (PI)

Select Media Coverage

Financial Times - "AI hallucinations haunt users more than job losses" (March 2026)
TechCrunch - "Researchers suggest OpenAI trained AI models on paywalled O'Reilly books" (April 2025)
Fast Company - "An AI watchdog accused OpenAI of using copyrighted books" (April 2025)
Cory Doctorow - "Big Tech's 'attention rents'" (November 2023)
Financial Times - "We must stop AI replicating the problems of surveillance capitalism" (November 2023)

Contact

Email: ilan@aidisclosures.org
GitHub: github.com/IlanStrauss
Substack: Asimov Addendum (with Tim O'Reilly)