Independent Verification Organizations (IVOs): Growing Public Support for an Innovative Approach to AI Governance
Research
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Dec 16, 2025
Insights from Fathom's National Polling and Statewide Focus Groups
Fathom’s latest report, Independent Verification Organizations (IVOs): Growing Public Support for an Innovative Approach to AI Governance, explores American public opinion on IVOs, a key component of Fathom’s governance efforts.
This report comes as AI usage reaches new heights: nearly 7 in 10 Americans now use AI. Yet public sentiment tells a more nuanced story — while excitement exists, it barely edges out concern, and overall attitudes remain uncertain. As more people experience AI’s benefits firsthand — from streamlining work tasks to enabling scientific discovery — demand for reasonable governance frameworks that can maximize AI’s potential while guarding against possible harms is also intensifying.
An IVO is an independent, expert-led organization that verifies whether AI systems meet safety and accountability criteria. Under the IVO framework, the government authorizes a marketplace of these organizations, and companies can voluntarily pursue verification to demonstrate their AI systems meet heightened standards of care. The IVO governance framework emerged from extensive conversations with hundreds of leaders from government, academia, industry, and civil society, as well as robust academic research.
Building on Fathom’s earlier reports, AI at the Crossroads (2024) and Rising AI Use, Rising Calls for Action (2025), this report advances Fathom’s work to listen and learn as we advance the governance solutions that the public are calling for. This report draws on both national survey and statewide focus group data.
This comprehensive assessment of public attitudes toward innovative AI governance reveals a clear consensus: 67% of Americans express a positive impression of the IVO framework, compared to just 17% with a negative impression. Americans increasingly recognize the need for AI governance and are seeking approaches beyond traditional regulation by government or industry self-regulation alone. They have articulated a need and desire for specific safeguards, and trust independent experts to help deliver them. IVOs offer a promising path forward that aligns with public preferences and complement other innovative governance approaches.