Our Vision for FIG

Most opportunities to work on the world’s most pressing problems are full-time, in-person roles in just a handful of cities - and it can be difficult to choose which problems to prioritise. We believe there are a lot of talented would-be researchers out there with the desire to have a positive impact, so we’ve decided to make it easier for people to work on these problems part-time and remote-first. 

Since starting in 2023, we’ve supported high-quality work on a wide range of topics, ranging from digital minds to global health. Now, we’re focusing on three priority cause areas that we believe could have an outsized effect on the long-term future.

• AI Policy is where theory meets practice, and helps policymakers make difficult decisions. What policy settings protect the benefits and limit the risks of transformative AI? Is it better to compete or cooperate in building transformative AI, and how does this change if we think it could be dangerous?

• Philosophy for Safe AIhelps us build thorough ethical foundations for technical research into AI safety and its implications. What should we want, and how can we know? What should we do when we have limited information, little time, and uncertain outcomes? Can AI be conscious, and if so, what does that mean for our shared future?

• AI Sentienceexplores questions surrounding machine consciousness and subjective experience in artificial systems. How do we detect or measure sentience in AI? What are the ethical implications if AI becomes genuinely conscious, and how should we treat potentially sentient systems? These questions become increasingly urgent as AI capabilities advance and the boundaries between intelligence and consciousness blur.
  
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  Suryansh Mehta & Luke Dawes
  Future Impact Group