futureoflife.org

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) provides grants to individuals and organizations working on projects that further its mission: steering transformative technology toward benefiting life and away from extreme large-scale risks. Grantmaking is one of FLI's four focus areas, alongside Policy & Research, Futures, and Communications. If your work addresses extreme risks from powerful technologies—especially AI and biotechnology—FLI's grantmaking is the relevant entry point.

What the program funds

FLI describes its grantmaking as support for "individuals and organisations working on projects that further our mission." In practice, that means projects tied to reducing extreme, large-scale risks from transformative technologies and to guiding those technologies toward beneficial outcomes.

The mission statement on FLI's site frames the underlying logic: "the way powerful technology is developed and used will be the most important factor in determining the prospects for the future of life." Grantmaking is the channel through which FLI backs outside work aligned with that premise.

A concrete example from FLI's own materials: the inaugural conference of the IASEAI (International Association for Safe and Ethical AI), held in Paris in 2025, is identified as an FLI grantee project. This shows the kind of recipient the program has supported—a convening-oriented organization in the AI safety and ethics space—rather than a narrow category such as only academic research or only advocacy.

Where grantmaking sits among FLI's work

FLI organizes its work into four focus areas. Knowing how grantmaking relates to the others helps you judge whether a grant is the right fit for your project or whether another route (policy engagement, communications collaboration) is more appropriate.

Grantmaking is therefore the external-funding arm: it does not replace FLI's own policy, research, or communications work but extends the mission through other people's projects.

The risk areas your project should connect to

FLI's focus areas define the subject matter its mission covers, and grantmaking follows the same mission. The two areas named on its site are:

• Artificial Intelligence — framed as either "an incredible tool that solves real problems and accelerates human flourishing, or a runaway uncontrollable force which destabilizes society, disempowers most people, enables terrorism, and replaces us."
• Biotechnology — framed around advances that can revolutionize medicine, manufacturing, and agriculture, with the corresponding risk dimension implied by FLI's extreme-risk mission.

A grant proposal is strongest when it maps clearly onto one of these areas and states which extreme risk it reduces or which beneficial outcome it helps realize.

How to assess fit before applying

Because FLI's public description of the program is mission-level rather than a detailed call for proposals, use these checks to decide whether to pursue a grant:

1. Mission alignment — Can you state in one sentence how your project steers transformative technology toward benefiting life or away from extreme large-scale risks?
2. Risk relevance — Does the project address AI, biotechnology, or another transformative technology with large-scale risk implications?
3. Additionality — Would an FLI grant enable work that otherwise would not happen, rather than top up an already-funded effort?
4. Comparable precedent — Does your project resemble prior grantees in kind (for example, a convening or field-building organization such as IASEAI)?

If the answer to the first two is unclear, the project likely sits outside the program's scope. If your work is closer to public education or policy advocacy, FLI's Communications or Policy & Research areas may be more relevant than grantmaking.

Practical next steps

• Start at the Grantmaking section of futureoflife.org, which sits alongside the other three focus areas on the homepage.
• Read the Mission statement first, then the Focus Areas descriptions, and use them as the framing language for any inquiry.
• Note that FLI's site does not publish grant amounts, eligibility criteria, or deadlines in the material reviewed here; confirm current process details directly with FLI rather than assuming terms.
• If you want to stay informed about FLI's work and openings, its monthly newsletter (described as reaching 70,000+ subscribers) is the stated channel for updates.

The key decision: if your project is an outside initiative aimed at reducing extreme risks from AI or biotechnology, FLI's grantmaking is designed for you; if your goal is to consume FLI's research or educational output rather than produce aligned work, the other focus areas are the better destination.

The Asilomar AI governance principles are a set of guidelines for developing and governing artificial intelligence so that it remains beneficial and avoids extreme, large-scale risks. The Future of Life Institute (FLI) — the organization behind them — describes itself as working to reduce extreme risks from transformative technologies and names the Asilomar principles as the work it is best known for. They are a reference framework for developers, policymakers, and researchers, not a law or a certification standard; treat them as a starting point for governance discussions rather than a compliance checklist.

What FLI is and why the principles matter

FLI's stated mission is "steering transformative technology towards benefiting life and away from extreme large-scale risks." Its focus areas include artificial intelligence and biotechnology, and it frames AI as either "an incredible tool that solves real problems and accelerates human flourishing, or a runaway uncontrollable force which destabilizes society, disempowers most people, enables terrorism, and replaces us."

That framing explains the purpose of the Asilomar principles: they translate a broad concern about extreme risk into concrete expectations for how AI should be developed and governed.

How the principles fit into FLI's wider work

The principles are one part of a larger governance effort. FLI organizes its work into four areas:

FLI also publishes an AI Safety Index and runs convenings such as The Pro-Human Assembly in Washington, D.C. Reading the principles alongside these later outputs gives a clearer picture of FLI's governance stance: it favors proactive, risk-aware policy engagement rather than purely voluntary developer discretion.

How to use the principles in practice

If you want to apply the Asilomar principles to a real decision — for example, drafting an internal AI review checklist or preparing comments on a proposed AI policy — a workable approach is:

1. Locate the current text. Go to futureoflife.org and find the Asilomar AI principles page rather than relying on secondhand summaries, since wording and framing can change.
2. Map each principle to your context. For an internal review, ask which principles bear on the specific system: research culture, transparency, safety, and long-term risk are common starting points.
3. Separate guidance from obligation. The principles are governance guidance; they do not by themselves create legal duties. Check applicable law separately — for instance, EU AI Act enforcement is a distinct track that FLI reports on but does not control.
4. Verify against FLI's later work. Cross-check your reading with FLI's AI Safety Index and policy updates to see how the organization currently interprets the same concerns.

Expected result: a short, defensible list of risk areas tied to named principles, which you can then attach to your own review or policy process.

Common sticking points

• Treating the principles as binding. They are not a regulation or certification. Organizations that present them as compliance evidence risk overstating what they have done.
• Assuming the list is static. FLI's positions evolve through its policy, research, and communications work; check the site for current material.
• Confusing FLI's advocacy with neutral standards bodies. FLI explicitly engages in policy advocacy in the US, EU, and globally, so its materials carry a point of view.
• Overlooking the newsletter and updates. FLI publishes monthly updates to more than 70,000 subscribers, which is a practical way to track how its governance thinking develops.

Bottom line

The Asilomar AI governance principles are FLI's best-known contribution to AI governance: a risk-focused framework for steering AI toward benefit and away from extreme harm. Use them as a structured reference for review and policy discussion, pair them with FLI's policy research and AI Safety Index for current context, and keep legal obligations in a separate track.

The simplest way to follow the Future of Life Institute (FLI) is to subscribe to its monthly newsletter, which the site says already reaches 70,000+ subscribers and covers the organization's work on safeguarding shared futures. From there, you can go deeper through four focus areas listed on the site — Policy & Research, Futures, Communications, and Grantmaking — and through featured projects and events such as The Pro-Human Assembly. These routes suit different goals: staying informed, contributing to research or policy discussion, applying for funding, or using FLI's educational materials in public discussion.

Start With the Newsletter

If your goal is simply to keep up with FLI, the newsletter is the lowest-effort entry point. The site describes it as a monthly update on "the work we're doing to safeguard our shared futures," and notes the 70,000+ subscriber base. Expect a roundup format rather than a single topic: recent updates referenced on the homepage bundle items such as a new AI litigation hub, EU AI Act enforcement, an AI Safety Index, and industry news.

What to do: Use the newsletter signup on the homepage. What you get: one monthly email summarizing FLI projects, policy developments, and media coverage. What it doesn't require: no application, no grant process, no membership tier is described on the page.

Choose a Focus Area That Matches Your Goal

FLI organizes its work into four areas. The table below maps each to what the site says it does and who it tends to suit.

Each area has its own "Learn more" path from the homepage. The Grantmaking route is the one that involves an actual application process; the page does not publish grant amounts, deadlines, or eligibility details, so treat those as things to confirm on the grantmaking page before planning a proposal.

Follow Projects and Convenings

Beyond the four areas, FLI's homepage highlights featured projects and events. The most prominent recent example is The Pro-Human Assembly, described as a one-day convening of leaders and advocates in Washington, D.C., that "makes headlines." The site also references its grantee community, including the inaugural conference of the IASEAI held in Paris in 2025.

If you want to track FLI's public-facing activity rather than its internal research, these project pages and the "In the media" section are the places to watch. They show what FLI is putting public weight behind at a given moment — useful context if you are deciding whether to align with, cite, or attend its convenings.

Use FLI's Educational Material in Public Discussion

FLI's stated Communications goal is to inform public discourse and encourage involvement. That makes its educational output a practical resource if you are preparing a talk, classroom material, or a community discussion about transformative technology risks. The site frames the underlying mission broadly: steering transformative technology "towards benefiting life and away from extreme large-scale risks," with artificial intelligence and biotechnology named as focus areas.

A concrete way to use this: if you need to explain why AI risk is treated as a governance problem rather than only a technical one, FLI's materials and its Asilomar AI governance principles (the work it says it is best known for) give you a citable framing. Check the specific page for the current wording rather than paraphrasing from memory.

What to Expect — and What Isn't Specified

• Language: the site is in English (en-US).
• Cost: the homepage does not state any price, membership fee, or payment requirement for following FLI or subscribing to the newsletter. Nothing on the page confirms these are free, so verify on the relevant signup or grant page if cost matters to your decision.
• Login: no account or login requirement is described for reading the site or its project pages.
• Response times and application outcomes: not published on the homepage; the grantmaking page is the place to check.

A Practical Sequence

1. Subscribe to the newsletter to get a monthly baseline on FLI's work.
2. Pick one focus area from Policy & Research, Futures, Communications, or Grantmaking based on whether you want to follow, learn, teach, or fund.
3. Open the featured project pages (for example, The Pro-Human Assembly) if you want to track public convenings and media moments.
4. If funding is your goal, go directly to the Grantmaking page and confirm eligibility and process there before drafting anything.

This order moves from lowest to highest commitment, so you can stop at whichever level matches your intent.

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a nonprofit organization that works to reduce extreme, large-scale risks from transformative technologies while steering those technologies toward benefiting life. Its stated mission is to ensure that powerful technology "continues to improve" the prospects for the future of life. FLI is best known for developing the Asilomar AI governance principles, and it focuses primarily on artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

What FLI says it is trying to do

FLI frames its work around a single premise: the way powerful technology is developed and used will be the most important factor in determining the future of life. Its mission is therefore to steer transformative technology toward beneficial outcomes and away from extreme large-scale risks.

The organization describes AI in particular as a double-edged force—either "an incredible tool that solves real problems and accelerates human flourishing, or a runaway uncontrollable force which destabilizes society, disempowers most people, enables terrorism, and replaces us." Biotechnology is treated similarly: advances can revolutionize medicine, manufacturing, and agriculture, but also carry serious risk.

The four focus areas

FLI organizes its work into four programs, each with a distinct role:

This structure is useful if you are trying to figure out where FLI's work might overlap with your own: policy engagement and research if you work in governance, grants if you are building a project, communications if you are looking for public-facing educational material.

What FLI is known for

• The Asilomar AI governance principles. FLI's own description names these as what the organization is best known for.
• Convenings and public advocacy. FLI's site highlights The Pro-Human Assembly, a one-day gathering of leaders and advocates in Washington, D.C., and notes that FLI Chair Max Tegmark has participated in AI policy roundtables with state-level officials.
• Recurring publications. FLI publishes an AI Safety Index and maintains an AI litigation hub, and its updates reference AI policy developments such as EU enforcement of the AI Act.
• A public audience. Its monthly newsletter reports more than 70,000 subscribers.

How to use the site

If you want to follow or engage with FLI's work rather than just understand it, the site offers a few practical entry points:

1. Read the mission and focus-area pages to see which of the four programs matches your interest.
2. Browse featured projects and videos for FLI's educational and scenario-based material.
3. Check the grantmaking page if you are looking for funding for a project aligned with the mission.
4. Subscribe to the newsletter for monthly updates, which is the lowest-effort way to track new reports and policy activity.

One caveat: the site describes FLI's activities and positions, not its internal operations or funding details. If you need to evaluate the organization for research, journalism, or a partnership, treat the site as FLI's own account and look for independent coverage of specific claims—such as the AI Safety Index or the Pro-Human Assembly—before relying on them.

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) focuses on reducing extreme, large-scale risks from transformative technologies—chiefly artificial intelligence and biotechnology. Its stated mission is to steer these technologies toward benefiting life and away from catastrophic outcomes. This overview is for readers who want to understand FLI's scope before deciding whether to follow, cite, or engage with its work; it draws on FLI's own published descriptions rather than independent evaluation.

The organizing frame: transformative technology and extreme risk

FLI does not present itself as a general science or environmental organization. Its premise is that how powerful technology is developed and used will be the most important factor in determining the prospects for the future of life. Two features of that framing matter:

• Transformative, not incremental. The focus is on technologies with world-remaking potential, not on ordinary product safety.
• Extreme and large-scale. The concern is catastrophic or civilization-scale harm, not routine accidents or localized harms.

That frame explains why FLI's portfolio is narrow and why it treats the same technology as both an opportunity and a hazard.

Artificial intelligence

FLI describes AI in explicitly two-sided terms: it can be "an incredible tool that solves real problems and accelerates human flourishing," or "a runaway uncontrollable force which destabilizes society, disempowers most people, enables terrorism, and replaces us."

The risks named in that sentence cluster into four kinds:

FLI is best known for developing the Asilomar AI governance principles, which places AI governance—not only technical safety—at the center of its AI work.

Biotechnology

FLI's biotechnology focus is framed the same way: advances "can revolutionize medicine, manufacturing, and agriculture," while carrying risk. The description emphasizes beneficial potential first, then the hazard, which is consistent with FLI's overall posture of steering rather than stopping.

How the focus areas connect to FLI's work streams

The focus areas are pursued through four named programs, each visible on FLI's site:

• Policy & Research — policy advocacy and research across the United States, the European Union, and internationally.
• Futures — guiding humanity toward beneficial outcomes from transformative technologies, including scenario work such as "Tomorrow's AI."
• Communications — educational materials aimed at informing public discourse and encouraging involvement.
• Grantmaking — grants to individuals and organizations working on projects that further the mission.

A reader trying to judge fit can use this mapping: if your interest is AI governance principles, start with Policy & Research; if it is scenario-based foresight, look at Futures; if it is funding for aligned projects, Grantmaking is the relevant stream.

What this scope does and does not cover

Covered: extreme risks from AI and biotechnology, treated through governance, research, foresight, communication, and grants.

Not established by the available material: a complete list of every technology FLI tracks, specific risk thresholds, or the criteria used to rank risks. The site describes focus areas at the level of principle rather than taxonomy. Readers needing precise definitions should consult FLI's published principles and program pages directly rather than infer them from the homepage summary.

Practical next step

If you are deciding whether FLI's framing matches your question, check the focus area first—AI or biotechnology—then the program stream. For AI governance specifically, the Asilomar principles are the most concrete artifact FLI points to; for current activity, FLI's monthly newsletter (described as reaching 70,000+ subscribers) is the stated channel for updates.