Share
Bertrand Russell Professor of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, University of Cambridge
Co-founder, Centre for Existential Risk (CSER)
By studying extreme risks that may result from technological advances, the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) aims to contribute to the safe development of transformative technologies. A key aim for 2014 was to begin building strong connections with policy makers and scientific research networks across the EU.
Through a meeting with CSaP Policy Fellow Kenan Poleo, we gained the support of the FCO’s Science and Innovation Network (SIN), and this proved vital to the achievement of our aims. SIN took part in our Berlin workshop on Extreme Technological Risks, and in turn invited a number of our attendees and CSER’s academics to participate in a related FCO event on Managing Risk in Biotechnology Innovation. Both events were a great success, helping to establish closer links between scientists and policy researchers in the UK and Germany on rapidly evolving topics where international dialogue is crucial.
The FCO gave insights into the nuances of current UK and German science and risk policy, and facilitated collaboration with the German government; and by coordinating our plans with their programme, we had the opportunity to explore a wider range of relevant topics and establish deeper relationships with several key academics.
As CSER’s international research network continues to grow, we look forward to working with the FCO again – building on the relationship which started through engagement with CSaP.
