Amir Banifatemi

Amir Banifatemi is a technologist and institutional architect whose work explores the relationship between artificial intelligence, human systems, and the long-term future of society. As Chief Responsible AI Officer at Cognizant, he leads the company’s global Responsible AI strategy, designing the frameworks and governance mechanisms through which advanced AI systems are developed, deployed, and integrated across enterprises and critical societal domains.

Over the past two decades, Amir has worked at the intersection of technology, innovation, and institutional design. He is a co-founder of AI Commons and was among the early leaders of the AI for Good movement, helping establish some of the first international platforms dedicated to exploring the societal implications of artificial intelligence and its potential to advance public benefit. A recurring theme throughout his work is how societies organize, govern, and benefit from transformative technologies whose capabilities increasingly outpace the institutions designed to oversee them.

Prior to Cognizant, Amir served as Chief Innovation and Growth Officer at XPRIZE, where he designed and launched global competitions spanning artificial intelligence, climate resilience, health, and emerging technologies. Through these initiatives, he explored how incentive structures, markets, and collaborative innovation can help societies navigate technological transformation.

Amir contributes to international AI policy, standards, and governance through organizations including the OECD, the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), IEEE, ISO, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). His work spans enterprise governance, international policy, innovation ecosystems, and the design of institutions capable of adapting to increasingly autonomous forms of intelligence. His current work explores how such systems reshape institutions, collective decision-making, and social coordination, and how governance must evolve to preserve human agency, trust, and democratic legitimacy.

He has advised governments, multinational corporations, international organizations, investors, and technology ventures on the strategic implications of emerging technologies. He serves on the boards of private and nonprofit organizations and teaches at leading universities. Amir holds degrees in Electrical Engineering, an MBA, and a Doctorate in System Design and Cognitive Sciences.