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Records obtained by The New Mexican show Jeffrey Epstein donated $100,000 to UNM to support artificial intelligence research.
Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender and financier, donated $100,000 to the University of New Mexico (UNM) in 2001, specifically to support artificial intelligence research by Ben Goertzel. Records obtained by The New Mexican revealed this philanthropic activity, which had not been previously reported. Epstein's note accompanying the check from his C.O.U.Q. Foundation praised UNM's Computer Science Department, and then-President William Gordon sent a thank-you letter. This discovery came after an initial records request in December yielded no results, but a subsequent request in September explicitly naming the C.O.U.Q. Foundation led to the unearthing of these documents. UNM spokesman Steve Carr stated the university had not previously reviewed ties to Epstein and, to his knowledge, Epstein never visited the campus. This information emerges amidst ongoing investigations into Epstein's activities in New Mexico, including a bipartisan 'truth commission' and a criminal inquiry by the state's Department of Justice. Goertzel, who met Epstein in 2001 while seeking AI research funding, confirmed Epstein's financial support for his fellowship at UNM. Leslie Elgood, the former director of the UNM Foundation, had no recollection of the gift, attributing it to Epstein's then-lower public profile and the volume of donations received at the time.