Our mission
Steering transformative technology towards benefitting life and away from extreme large-scale risks.
We believe that the way powerful technology is developed and used will be the most important factor in determining the prospects for the future of life. This is why we have made it our mission to ensure that technology continues to improve those prospects.
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Our mission
Ensuring that our technology remains beneficial for life
Our mission is to steer transformative technologies away from extreme, large-scale risks and towards benefiting life.
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How certain technologies are developed and used has far-reaching consequences for all life on earth.
If properly managed, these technologies could change the world in a way that makes life substantially better, both for those alive today and those who will one day be born. They could be used to treat and eradicate diseases, strengthen democratic processes, mitigate - or even halt - climate change and restore biodiversity.
If irresponsibly managed, they could inflict serious harms on humanity and other animal species. In the most extreme cases, they could bring about the fragmentation or collapse of societies, and even push us to the brink of extinction.
The Future of Life Institute works to reduce the likelihood of these worst-case outcomes, and to help ensure that transformative technologies are used to the benefit of life.
Our missionIf properly managed, these technologies could change the world in a way that makes life substantially better, both for those alive today and those who will one day be born. They could be used to treat and eradicate diseases, strengthen democratic processes, mitigate - or even halt - climate change and restore biodiversity.
If irresponsibly managed, they could inflict serious harms on humanity and other animal species. In the most extreme cases, they could bring about the fragmentation or collapse of societies, and even push us to the brink of extinction.
The Future of Life Institute works to reduce the likelihood of these worst-case outcomes, and to help ensure that transformative technologies are used to the benefit of life.
Cause areas
The risks we focus on
We are currently concerned by three major risks. They all hinge on the development, use and governance of transformative technologies. We focus our efforts on guiding the impacts of these technologies.
UAV Kargu autonomous drones at the campus of OSTIM Technopark in Ankara, Turkey - June 2020.
Our work
How we are addressing these issues
There are many potential levers of change for steering the development and use of transformative technologies. We target a range of these levers to increase our chances of success.
Policy
We perform policy advocacy in the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations.
Our Policy workOutreach
We produce educational materials aimed at informing public discourse, as well as encouraging people to get involved.
Our Outreach workGrantmaking
We provide grants to individuals and organisations working on projects that further our mission.
Our Grant ProgramsEvents
We convene leaders of the relevant fields to discuss ways of ensuring the safe development and use of powerful technologies.
Our EventsFeatured Projects
What we're working on
Read about some of our current featured projects:
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newsletter
Regular updates about the technologies shaping our world
Every month, we bring 41,000+ subscribers the latest news on how emerging technologies are transforming our world. It includes a summary of major developments in our cause areas, and key updates on the work we do. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive these highlights at the end of each month.
MIRI’s January 2018 Newsletter
Our 2017 fundraiser was a huge success, with 341 donors contributing a total of $2.5 million! Some of the largest […]
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FLI December, 2017 Newsletter
FLI December, 2017 Newsletter FLI Announces 2nd AI Safety Grants Competition A Look Back at 2017 and the Next Step […]
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January 18, 2018
FLI November, 2017 Newsletter
FLI November, 2017 Newsletter AI Researchers Create Video to Call for Autonomous Weapons Ban at UN In response to growing concerns […]
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December 12, 2017
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Our content
Latest posts
The most recent posts we have published:
Transparent and Interpretable AI: an interview with Percy Liang
At the end of 2017, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill called the SELF DRIVE Act, laying […]
February 13, 2018
As CO2 Levels Rise, Scientists Question Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios of Climate Change
Scientists know that the planet is warming, that humans are causing it, and that we’re running out of time to […]
February 6, 2018
Is There a Trade-off Between Immediate and Longer-term AI Safety Efforts?
Something I often hear in the machine learning community and media articles is “Worries about superintelligence are a distraction from […]
January 29, 2018
Rewinding the Doomsday Clock
On Thursday, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists inched their iconic Doomsday Clock forward another thirty seconds. It is now two […]
January 27, 2018
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Policy papers
The most recent policy papers we have published:
View all policy papers
Future of Life Institute Podcast
The most recent podcasts we have broadcast:
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