Sinan Aral, MIT Sloan Professor and Leading AI Expert, Affiliates with Cornerstone Research

BOSTON, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A prominent voice on artificial intelligence (AI), Professor Aral adds research, entrepreneurial, and testimony experience in AI and digital platforms to the firm's expert network.

Cornerstone Research announced today that Sinan Aral, the David Austin Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, has affiliated with the firm. Professor Aral directs the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE), one of MIT Sloan's largest research centers.

Research on AI, social networks, and the digital economy
An authority on AI, Professor Aral conducts consequential research at the intersection of applied AI, computational social science, information systems, social commerce, and digital marketing. He has analyzed social media manipulation, network seeding, the strength of weak ties in social networks, online information diffusion, and true and false news.

Professor Aral's coauthored article on the spread of false news online appeared on the cover of Science and became the second most influential scientific publication of the year in any discipline.

Current research on applied and agentic AI
In his current work, Professor Aral examines the social, economic, and business effects of applied and agentic AI, including human-AI collaboration, AI search and negotiation, AI personalization, and the use of personal data in AI products, as well as the economic and legal questions surrounding AI and copyright.

"Sinan is a nationally recognized academic, award-winning educator, and sought-after speaker who has also built and invested in technology companies and testifies as an expert," said Samid Hussain, senior vice president and cohead of Cornerstone's consumer fraud and product liability practice. "His command of AI and digital platforms, the markets they are transforming, and the consumers who use them will bring valuable insight to the disputes our clients face in these arenas."

Technology entrepreneurship and expert testimony
In addition to his academic work, Professor Aral is cofounder and CEO of Pairium AI and a cofounder and general partner of two venture capital (VC) firms, Manifest Growth and Milemark Capital.

Professor Aral has been retained as an expert witness in a high-profile federal antitrust matter and a data privacy case in Europe, and he has testified in depositions. His extensive data science and digital marketplace expertise positions him to analyze other antitrust matters involving platform competition, digital ecosystem dynamics, and market dilution allegations.

Professor Aral holds a Ph.D. from MIT, an M.P.P. from Harvard University, an M.Sc. with distinction from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a B.A. with honors from Northwestern University.

About Cornerstone Research
Cornerstone Research is at the forefront of economic and financial consulting, delivering the rigorous analytical solutions required to navigate complex disputes. The firm draws from an extensive network of prominent academic and industry experts to support each matter effectively. Pairing a deep understanding of economics and finance with a suite of industry-leading artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, Cornerstone provides clients with a sophisticated, tailored approach. A reputation for innovation, precision, and excellence has defined Cornerstone since 1989. That momentum continues with over 1,000 professionals collaborating across nine offices in the US, UK, and EU.

SOURCE Cornerstone Research