Project summary

Talos Institute is a new organisation focused on EU AI policy careers.

Talos is spinning out of Training for Good and will launch in 2024 with the EU Tech Policy Fellowship as its flagship programme. We envision Talos expanding its activities and quickly growing into a key organisation in the AI governance landscape.

What are this project's goals and how will you achieve them?

Our goal is to reduce risks from advanced AI by transitioning talented individuals into policy careers in Europe.

We expect to achieve this by transitioning talented individuals focused on reducing such risks into policy institutions within the EU. We expect our fellows will directly influence AI regulation within the EU. Through a Brussels effect (de facto or de jure), this could positively shape AI regulation elsewhere. See Forum post and GovAI report for more on this theory of change.

The EU Tech Policy Fellowship will continue to be our flagship programme here. We will also explore other high-impact activities listed below.

The EU Tech Policy Fellowship

The EU Tech Policy Fellowship is a 7-month programme for launching European policy careers reducing risks from artificial intelligence. From 2024, it will run twice per year. It includes:

• 8-week training that explores the intricacies of AI governance in Europe

• A week-long policymaking summit in Brussels to connect with others working in the space

• 6-month placement at a prominent think tank working on AI policy (e.g. The Centre for European Policy Studies, The Future Society)

Future directions

We can imagine Talos Institute growing in a number of ways. Future activities could include things like:

• Creating career advice resources tailored to careers in European policy (especially for those interested in AI & biosecurity careers). Similar to what Horizon has done in the US.

• Community-building activities for those working in AI Governance in Europe (eg. retreats to facilitate connections, help create shared priorities, identify needs in the space, and incubate new projects).

• Hosting events in Brussels educating established policy makers on risks from advanced AI

• Activities that help grow the number of people interested in considering policy careers focused on risks from advanced AI, e.g. workshops like this 

• Expanding beyond AI governance to run similar placement programmes for other problems in Europe (e.g. biosecurity).

• Establishing the organisation as a credible think tank in Europe. |This would involve hiring researchers in-house and producing useful object-level output.

• Producing media and content related to AI governance in EU

It’s unclear how promising any of the above activities would be. Their inclusion here is not necessarily an endorsement. Instead, we suspect that an incoming Executive Director might explore some of these options, perhaps alongside other activities that are not listed above.

How will this funding be used?

What your dollar buys (in general, not on the margin):

• $2,500: An additional participant on our EUTPF training track

• $15,000: A 6-month placement at a leading EU think tank working on AI governance for a talented early-career individual

• $35,000: A week-long policymaking summit in Brussels for ~15 early-career individuals

• $100,000: A new Executive Director grow Talos into a key organisation in the AI governance landscape

We seeking unrestricted funding for this project. This funding will primarily be used to hire an Executive Director and/or an EU Tech Policy Lead.

Who is on your team and what's your track record on similar projects?

Our team

Our team currently consists of Cillian Crosson, Jan-Willem van Putten, and Carolin Basilowski. We're currently hiring additional staff to work on Talos. We expect to have an extremely high bar during this process.

Track record

The EU Tech Policy Fellowship appears to have had a significant impact to date since its launch in 2021. We’ve supported ~30 EU Tech Policy Fellows and successfully transitioned a significant number to work on AI governance in Europe. For example:

• Several work at key think tanks (e.g. The Future Society, the International Center for Future Generations, and the Centre for European Policy Studies)

• One has co-founded an AI think tank working directly with the UN and co-authored a piece for The Economist with Gary Marcus

• Others are advising MEPs and key institutions on the EU AI Act and related legislation

We’re conducting an external evaluation and expect to publish the results in early 2024. Initial indicators suggest that the programme has been highly effective to date. As a result, we have decided to double the programme’s size by running two cohorts per year. We now expect to support 30+ fellows in 2024 alone.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails? (premortem)

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What other funding are you or your project getting?

We have received ~$570k to support this work in 2024.

Our room for more funding in 2024 is $240k.

Our room for more funding over the next 3 years is ~$3.1m.