Jeffrey Epstein and the Secret Program That Built Modern AI

Newly released documents from the Department of Justice (DOJ) have revealed that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein cultivated extensive, long-term connections with researchers, scientists, and institutions—including MIT and the University of Tennessee—to fund AI research between roughly 2002 and 2017. While not a “secret program” in the traditional sense, Epstein operated a, at times, hidden network of funding for specific researchers working on artificial general intelligence (AGI), cognitive architectures, and facial recognition, often providing funds post-conviction.

Key AI Connections and Funding Timeline

2002: Epstein donated $100,000 to MIT to support AI pioneer Marvin Minsky.
August 2002: Epstein funded “The St. Thomas Common Sense Symposium” in the Virgin Islands, a gathering aimed at advancing AI during an “AI winter”.
2002–2017: Epstein donated a total of $850,000 to MIT’s Media Lab, with the bulk of this, $750,000, occurring after his 2008 sex-offender conviction.
2003–2021: Itamar Arel, a University of Tennessee (UT) computer science professor, collaborated with Epstein on AI-powered robotics, including using student labor for a “robotic AGI toddler” project.
2009: Arel, introduced by AI researcher Ben Goertzel, visited Epstein in Florida, leading to funding for his facial recognition software, DeSTIN.
March 2010: Arel and Goertzel prepared a proposal for a $3 million AI project funded by the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation.
2011: Arel asked Epstein for $50,000 to fund a sabbatical for AGI research.
2013–2019: Epstein provided financial support for German AI scientist Joscha Bach at the MIT Media Lab and Harvard’s Program for Evolutionary Dynamics (PED), covering rent, flights, and medical bills.
2014–2016: Epstein invested in Reporty Homeland Security (later Carbyne), a company headed by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak that focused on video AI, and tried to connect it to Silicon Valley figures.
2017: The AI work done by Arel and Goertzel was applied to the humanoid robot “Sophia”.
2017: Emails show Arel and Epstein were interacting on LinkedIn, two years before Epstein’s final arrest.

Key Figures in the Network

Marvin Minsky: MIT pioneer who attended Epstein-funded events.
Itamar Arel: UT professor who received funding for facial recognition research (DeSTIN).
Ben Goertzel: AI researcher who facilitated connections and worked on the “robot toddler” project.
Joscha Bach: Researcher who received extensive personal and professional funding.
Martin Nowak: Harvard professor who ran the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, which received a $6.5 million check from Epstein.

Note: The information above is based on DOJ files released in 2026, as reported by various media outlets in February 2026..

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