AI & National Security Lead

Future of Life Organizations; Washington; Hybrid; USD 134,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Job summary

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is hiring an AI & National Security Lead based in Washington, DC to analyze and shape policy at the intersection of AI and global security. You will work with policymakers, industry, and researchers to assess risks from AI, bio and nuclear technologies, develop briefing materials, and advocate for responsible policy and governance.

This role reports to the Head of US Policy and requires a strong track record in public speaking, policy engagement, and scholarly

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in National Security Studies, Public Policy, or International Affairs.
• 1 year of professional experience researching existential risks from AI, biological, and/or nuclear technologies.
• 1 year of experience engaging with key policy stakeholders on AI safety issues, such as federal lawmakers and agency officials.
• 1 year of experience in public speaking and/or media engagement.
• Publication of at least one scholarly article on emerging technology risks.

Responsibilities

• Analyze AI and national security risks and mitigate AI-related risks.
• Monitor, analyze, and respond to AI policy developments.
• Create informational materials and briefings for policymakers and media.
• Appear on panels and brief government and media.
• Identify opportunities to drive policy change via events and summits.
• Craft policies and executive orders to balance benefits and risks of emerging tech.
• Support grantmaking by evaluating proposals and funding those aligning with FLI objectives.

Skills

Policy analysis

Public speaking

Media engagement

Research

Education

Master’s degree in National Security Studies, Public Policy, or International Affairs

Job description

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is hiring for an AI & National Security Lead, based in Washington, DC. The AI & National Security Lead will report directly to the Head of US Policy.

Job Duties:

• Analyze and raise awareness on how AI interacts with US national security concerns, particularly nuclear and biological technologies, and how to mitigate risks from AI.
• Monitor, analyze, and respond to developments in AI and emerging technology policy.
• Develop informational materials and conduct educational briefings to explain complex AI policy issues and technical developments in AI and other emerging technologies to policymakers, industry, academics, think‑tank staff and the media.
• Appear on panel discussions, give presentations, and brief members of the media and government.
• Identify high‑impact opportunities to drive meaningful policy change including convening roundtables, summits, and other public and private events.
• Craft policies and executive orders that maximize the benefits of emerging technologies while minimizing their risks.
• Support grantmaking efforts by researching grant proposals, deciding which proposals to fund, and executing grant projects to further FLI objectives of mitigating risks from AI and emerging technologies.

Candidate Requirements:

• Master’s degree in National Security Studies, Public Policy, or International Affairs.
• 1 year of professional experience researching existential risks from AI, biological, and/or nuclear technologies.
• 1 year of experience engaging with key policy stakeholders on AI safety issues, such as federal lawmakers and agency officials.
• 1 year of experience in public speaking and/or media engagement.
• Publication of at least one scholarly article on emerging technology risks.

$133,869 - $210,000 a year

Salary depends on experience. We also provide employees with health insurance and other standard benefits.

Location:

Remote work permissible but must be within regular commuting distance to Washington, DC.

Start Date:

We’d like the chosen candidate to start as soon as possible after accepting an offer.

Eligibility:

We are not able to sponsor visas for this role.

FLI aims to be an inclusive organization. We proactively seek job applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds.

If you are passionate about FLI’s mission and think you have what it takes to be successful in this role even though you may not check all the boxes, please still apply. We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

Questions may be directed to [e-mail].

About the Future of Life Institute

Founded in 2014, FLI is an independent non-profit working to steer transformative technology towards benefiting life and away from extreme large-scale risks. Our work includes grantmaking, educational outreach, and policy engagement.

Our work has been featured in The Washington Post, Politico, Vox, Forbes, The Guardian, the BBC, and Wired.

Some of our achievements include:

• Superintelligence Statement, an open letter calling for a prohibition on the development of superintelligent AI until there is strong public buy-in and scientific consensus that it can be developed safely and controllably. The letter has been signed by more than 130,000 people, including Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, Steve Wozniak, Richard Branson, Steve Bannon, Prince Harry and Susan Rice.
• The Asilomar AI Principles, one of the earliest and most influential sets of AI governance principles.
• The Pro-Human AI Declaration, a document with five guidelines on how AI development must be centred on humanity first, created during a meeting of bipartisan civil society groups spanning faith, labor, and think tanks.
• Testimony to the US Senate AI Insight Forum on Innovation, and the first civil society presentation to the US House of Representatives Taskforce on AI, encouraging policies that mitigate catastrophic risks from AI.
• Participation in the US AI Safety Institute Consortium.
• AI Safety Index - an objective rating of AI companies on key safety and security domains, as judged by experts in the field.

FLI is a largely virtual organization, with a team of >30 distributed internationally, mostly in Europe and the US. We have four offices: Campbell in California, Brussels in Belgium, London in the UK, and Washington DC.