Stanford Center for Research on Foundation Models (CRFM)
- Type
- Academic institution
- Place
- United States — United States (Stanford, within HAI)
- Last checked
- 2026-09-22
- Next check due
- 2027-03-21
Ways to reach them
- HELM — open benchmark; models and scenarios can be contributed via GitHub
- Foundation Model Transparency Index — developers respond to it, and the methodology is public
This route is retained as reference only. Its verification is missing, more than 180 days old, or the contact window is not currently open; do not rely on it until it is re-checked.
- People directory — the practical contact route is an individual researcher
- Homepage
What it does
Interdisciplinary centre spanning 10+ Stanford departments. Coined the term 'foundation models'. Outputs include HELM (Holistic Evaluation of Language Models — a widely used open benchmark suite), the Foundation Model Transparency Index (FMTI, which grades developers on transparency), Ecosystem Graphs, and Levanter. Works across technical foundations, beneficial applications, societal impact (transparency, openness, copyright, privacy, systemic risk) and AI policy.
Honest assessment
No centre-level inbox at all. Everything runs through named researchers or through open-source contribution to HELM, which is the genuinely open channel.
Concerns it covers
Systemic risk from homogenisation and opacity — the founding thesis is that a small number of foundation models become single points of failure across society. Transparency-centred. Covers near-term and structural risk; touches systemic risk but not loss of control.
Government channel
Real — CRFM has filed influential comments in US and EU processes (notably on the EU AI Act and on open foundation models) and its transparency work is cited by regulators.