Jaan Tallinn was first persuaded that advanced AI could extinguish humanity over 15 years ago. Since then, the Estonian programmer and Skype co-creator has been shaping the field of AI safety. He helped to found and fund nonprofit organization the Future of Life Institute and the Cambridge Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, while early investments in AI labs Anthropic and DeepMind expanded both his fortune and the scope of his giving.
Tallinn’s Survival and Flourishing Fund has organized some $150 million to more than 300 projects, including METR and Epoch AI, organizations that track AI development and assess the capabilities of different models. He has also backed Mila, an academic institute in Montreal founded by AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, along with a range of initiatives to cultivate talent.
After an initial focus on supporting technical alignment and governance work, Tallinn is now also funding grassroots organizations that raise awareness of AI’s risks among voters. Despite his conviction in these risks, Tallinn is pragmatic. “It’s healthier to focus on the world where you can still make a difference,” he says. “It kind of makes sense. It’s kind of rational.”
Disclosure: Pillay is an editorial fellow supported by the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism, which has received funding from the Survival and Flourishing Fund.