OpenAI’s Human Data Team invited Dr. Nathan C. Walker to serve as an Expert AI Trainer. In this consulting researcher role between April 2024 and July 2025, he provided subject-matter expertise in First Amendment law, human rights, and education to ensure the safety and accuracy of frontier models, including Deep Research.
OpenAI does not have a formal partnership with the AI Ethics Lab. Dr. Walker’s external professional engagement with OpenAI was conducted independently of Rutgers University and was disclosed and evaluated by the Rutgers COI office. This consulting role involved consulting compensation but was unrelated to Dr. Walker’s responsibilities at Rutgers University and did not result in any conflict of interest with the AI Ethics Lab’s research, teaching, public scholarship, or university service.