Future of Life Institute

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a nonprofit organization that works to guide powerful new technologies toward helping people and away from big dangers. It pays special attention to the risks that come with very smart computers, called existential risk from advanced artificial intelligence.

The FLI does this by giving money to important research through grantmaking, teaching others through educational outreach, and speaking up in important places like the United Nations, the United States government, and the European Union.

Some of the people who started the FLI include well-known scientists and technology leaders, such as MIT scientist Max Tegmark, UCSC scientist Anthony Aguirre, and Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn.

Purpose

The Future of Life Institute works to guide new technologies so they help people and avoid big dangers. They are especially concerned about the risks that could come from very advanced artificial intelligence, but they also look at other risks like biotechnology, nuclear weapons, and climate change.

History

FLI began in March 2014, started by MIT scientist Max Tegmark, Skype creator Jaan Tallinn, and others.

Since 2017, FLI has given out an annual award and made films to share ideas about the future. In 2018, they asked for rules to stop dangerous robots that could hurt people.

In March 2023, FLI asked big companies to pause making very smart AI for six months to make it safer. Many famous people signed this request, worrying about problems like misinformation and losing jobs.

In October 2025, FLI asked to stop making super-smart AI until it is proven safe, warning that this technology might arrive very soon. Many important people signed this request too, including scientists, actors, and authors. A poll showed most Americans agreed that super-smart AI should only be made when it is proven safe.

Operations

The Future of Life Institute works to guide new technologies, especially artificial intelligence (AI), toward helping people and avoiding big dangers. They talk to leaders in governments, like the United States and Europe, about rules for AI. They also support treaties to stop dangerous weapons, such as nuclear weapons and autonomous weapons.

In 2015, the institute began giving money to researchers studying safe AI, thanks to a big donation. They hold meetings to bring together experts from schools and companies to talk about how to make AI helpful and safe for everyone. These meetings have led to important ideas and agreements about responsible AI development.

In the media

The Future of Life Institute has been featured in several articles and interviews. Some of these include:

• "The Fight to Define When AI is 'High-Risk'" in Wired.
• "Lethal Autonomous Weapons exist; They Must Be Banned" in IEEE Spectrum.
• "United States and Allies Protest U.N. Talks to Ban Nuclear Weapons" in The New York Times.
• "Is Artificial Intelligence a Threat?" in The Chronicle of Higher Education, featuring interviews with FLI founders Max Tegmark, Jaan Tallinn, and Viktoriya Krakovna.
• "But What Would the End of Humanity Mean for Me?", an interview with Max Tegmark on the ideas behind FLI in The Atlantic.