Joscha Bach

Joscha Bach is a German cognitive scientist and artificial-intelligence researcher, born in 1973, whose work focuses on cognitive architectures, mental representation, and the philosophy of mind. He earned an MA in computer science from Humboldt University of Berlin and a PhD in cognitive science from Osnabrück University, and his affiliations include the MIT Media Lab, Harvard’s Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Intel, and the AI Foundation, where he served as vice president of research.

Bach is named in connection with the Epstein files as a cognitive scientist whose MIT Media Lab research was subsidized by Epstein. According to The Boston Globe, Epstein donated a total of $300,000 to support Bach’s research at the MIT Media Lab across three contributions in November 2013 and July and September 2014, and the report states Bach was hired “in large part because Epstein subsidized the cost.” Epstein’s 2008 conviction predated this funding. The Globe reported that an email chain between Bach and Epstein from 2016, released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee in November 2025, contained remarks by Bach about race and gender and a statement describing fascism as “probably the most efficient and rationally stringent way of governance.” The Globe reported that the AI company Liquid AI, which Bach had advised, terminated its relationship with him after the emails became public, and that MIT declined to comment specifically.

In his own public statement, “On the Jeffrey Epstein Affair,” Bach wrote that respected scientists had recommended the collaboration and that he was assured Epstein was reformed, adding, “I have not met a single person from his network of academics who was aware of any instance of him breaking the law after his conviction.” He said Epstein “never influenced the topics or goals of my research.” Bach did not retract the 2016 emails but reframed them as a private scientific discussion, writing, “I do not believe (and have never said) that people of different races have different cognitive abilities.” The Boston Globe likewise reported that Bach said his views had changed and that “race is NOT causal for differences in development.”

Is Joscha Bach in the Epstein files?

Yes. Joscha Bach is named in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein files as a cognitive scientist whose MIT Media Lab research was subsidized by Epstein. The Boston Globe reported that Epstein gave $300,000 toward that research in 2013 and 2014 and that the two exchanged emails in 2016 later released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee. Bach has publicly addressed the matter, saying he was introduced to Epstein by other academics, that Epstein did not influence his research, and that he does not hold the views attributed to the emails. Being named in the files is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing.

Documents

Primary-source records that name or reference Joscha Bach. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; Bach says he was introduced to Epstein by other academics, that Epstein did not influence his research, and that he does not hold the views attributed to the emails.

• House Oversight Committee — Epstein email correspondence release (Nov. 2025) — According to The Boston Globe, a 2016 email chain between Bach and Epstein was among the correspondence released by the House Oversight Committee in November 2025. The Globe reported the exchange contained remarks by Bach about race and gender; after it became public, the AI company Liquid AI ended its advisory relationship with him. Bach reframed the emails as a private scientific discussion and said his views have changed.