Future of Life Institute (FLI)

We face a set of threats that put all of humanity at risk: the climate crisis, pandemics, nuclear weapons, and ungoverned AI. The ongoing harms and existential risk presented by these issues can't be tackled with short-term fixes. But with bold leadership and decisive action from world leaders, our best days can still lay ahead of us. That's why, with The Elders Foundation, we're calling on decision-makers to demonstrate the responsible governance and cooperation required to confront these shared global challenges. This #LongviewLeadership means: ⏰ Thinking beyond short-term political cycles to deliver solutions for current and future generations. 🤝 Recognising that enduring answers require compromise and collaboration for the good of the whole world. 🧍 Showing compassion for all people, designing sustainable policies which respect that everyone is born free and equal in dignity and rights. 🌍 Upholding the international rule of law and accepting that durable agreements require transparency and accountability. 🕊️ Committing to a vision of hope in humanity’s shared future, not playing to its divided past. World leaders have come together before to address catastrophic risks. We can do it again. Share and sign our open letter ⬇️ https://rb.gy/0duze1

New from our religious perspectives on AI series, giving voice to diverse spiritual viewpoints on how AI might shape humanity’s future: Yaqub Chaudhary offers an Islamic perspective on AI in “The Future and the Artificial: An Islamic Perspective” 👇 https://bit.ly/3TQfh8w

🚧 🔗 We've released a new webpage dedicated to the topic of AI safety, complete with a bunch of helpful introductory resources outlining why we urgently need regulation. Check it out now: https://lnkd.in/dq3APWRm

New in Current Affairs by its editor-in-chief, Nathan J. Robinson: "From deepfake porn to the empowerment of authoritarian governments to the possibility that badly-programmed AI will inflict some catastrophic new harm we haven’t even considered, the rapid advancement of these technologies is clearly hugely risky. That means that we are being put at risk by institutions over which we have no control." 🔗 https://bit.ly/4eNFoVE

We’re proud to announce that we recently made a $1.5 million grant to Federation of American Scientists, supporting research into the implications of AI on global risks. Over the next 18 months, this project will feature a series of high-level workshops, policy sprints, fellowship programs, and targeted research efforts, culminating in a 2026 international summit on AI and global risks. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3TW0AAN

👏 This couldn't be more important. New from Andrea Miotti, Tolga Bilge, David Kasten, and James Newport: A comprehensive three-phase plan for policymakers to secure humanity's future against AI's extinction-level threats ⬇️ https://www.narrowpath.co/

We need to address AI's language problem. As dawn breaks over the Francophonie Summit this morning, a group of Francophone experts have published an open letter stressing the importance of multilingualism in AI safety. "The lack of linguistic and cultural diversity in the foundation models underlying AI applications, and the lack of multilingual safety assessments for these models, pose a threat to the national sovereignty of the states in which they are distributed, and to the safety of users." Full letter: https://lnkd.in/eQdHsnqK Signatories include Martin Vetterli, President of the EPFL, Mohamed Farahat, Vice President at the African Internet Governance Forum (AFIGF) and Dr. Seydina M. NDIAYE, Program Director of FORCE-N at Cheikh Hamidou Kane Digital University. As France's AI Action Summit approaches, this underreported issue is a growing concern among participating states. The letter is a way for institutions to influence global governance so that AI models developed in the certain regions of the world are safer, more secure and robust by the time they reach local applications elsewhere. "As it stands, the marketing of AI systems developed and evaluated in English, insidiously promotes a form of cultural domination and value monopoly dangerous to the diversity of the world’s heterogeneous cultures, and exposes the non-English-speaking world to higher levels of abuse and misuse." To find out more, or to chat with Future of Life Institute (FLI) AI Safety Summit Lead Imane (Ima) Bello, get in touch via DM or email press@futureoflife.org.

📆 Lundi prochain, 7 octobre: Venez écouter Yoshua Bengio parler de la sécurité de l'IA et du prochain Sommet français sur l'action en matière d'IA. 💻 16h-17h, en ligne (Zoom), gratuit. 🔗 RSVP pour participer: https://lnkd.in/gRZFxQ6q

📻 In the latest FLI Podcast episode, host Gus Docker sits down with Ryan Greenblatt from Redwood Research to delve into AI control, alignment (and misalignment), timelines, and much more. ⏯️ Watch the full interview now at the link below, or find it on your favourite podcast player!

Alongside SB 1047’s many supporters, we’re incredibly disappointed to see it vetoed by Governor Newsom. Big Tech's lobbying efforts to avoid accountability and oversight have won out - this time - over ensuring public safety and sustainable AI innovation. But the fight for safe AI is only just beginning. It's been so heartening to see such a broad, bipartisan array of individuals and organizations come together to advocate for common-sense, balanced AI regulation. With ever-increasing momentum, it's only a matter of time until a similar legislative effort succeeds.