Forethought Foundation for Global Priorities Research

What Forethought Foundation for Global Priorities Research does

Forethought Foundation for Global Priorities Research is a nonprofit research organization focused on how to navigate the transition to superintelligent AI systems. The organization conducts philosophical and strategic research on AI safety, intelligence explosion scenarios, and existential risk reduction, producing research that targets AI safety researchers, academics, policymakers, grant-making organizations, and the broader effective altruism community. Its research explores "grand challenges" that could arise from advanced AI, including new weapons of mass destruction, AI-enabled autocracies, races for offworld resources, and digital beings worthy of moral consideration, alongside opportunities to improve quality of life and collective decision-making.

The organization's core outputs are open-access research publications hosted on forethought.org. Notable 2025 publications include "Preparing for the Intelligence Explosion" (MacAskill and Moorhouse, March 2025), "AI-Enabled Coups: How a Small Group Could Use AI to Seize Power" (Davidson, Finnveden, and Hadshar, April 2025), "Will AI R&D Automation Cause a Software Intelligence Explosion?" (Eth and Davidson, March 2025), "AI Tools for Existential Security" (Vaintrob and Cotton-Barratt, March 2025), and the "Better Futures" essay series (MacAskill, August 2025). Beyond publications, Forethought distributes research through the "ForeCast" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and other major platforms, and a weekly newsletter via Substack. The organization does not develop proprietary technology products, software platforms, or AI models.

Forethought operates as a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 16156175), headquartered at Third Floor, 20 Old Bailey, London. The organization is funded through donations and charitable grants and operates with a small team of 1-10 employees. Its leadership comprises Senior Research Fellows William MacAskill (Associate Professor of moral philosophy at the University of Oxford and co-founder of Giving What We Can, 80,000 Hours, Centre for Effective Altruism, and Global Priorities Institute) and Tom Davidson (formerly of Open Philanthropy and the UK Government's AI Security Institute), plus Research Fellow Mia Taylor (formerly Interim Research Director at the Center on Long-term Risk).

Name

Forethought Foundation for Global Priorities Research

Legal name

Forethought Research

Website

https://forethought.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Forethought Foundation for Global Priorities Research is a London-based nonprofit that researches strategies for navigating the transition to superintelligent AI, producing open-access research reports, a podcast, and a newsletter for AI safety researchers, policymakers, and the effective altruism community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AI Safety and Global Priorities Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

Keywords

• AI safety research
• Existential risk analysis
• AGI preparedness research
• Nonprofit research foundation
• Longtermism policy research

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Funding: As a registered nonprofit company (no. 16156175) in England and Wales, Forethought operates primarily through donations and charitable funding. The organization solicits donations through its website and likely pursues grant funding from foundations supporting AI safety and existential risk research.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Forethought Foundation for Global Priorities Research is a UK-registered nonprofit (company limited by guarantee, no. 16156175) that produces academic and policy-relevant research on how humanity should navigate advanced AI, superintelligence, and other civilizational-scale risks. It distributes this research through publications, the ForeCast podcast, and a newsletter aimed at AI researchers, policymakers, and philanthropic donors.

Product overview

Forethought is a nonprofit research organization (not a product company) focused on how to navigate the transition to a world with superintelligent AI. The organization produces research publications on topics including AI timelines, intelligence explosions, AI-enabled coups, and existential risk reduction. It also offers content platforms including the ForeCast podcast and a weekly newsletter. The organization does not offer commercial products or software platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ForeCast: The organization's podcast featuring discussions on navigating the intelligence explosion and narrations of research publications

Products and services

• Research Publications
• ForeCast Podcast
• Newsletter Subscription

Quantifiable outcome

• Published major research reports on AI R&D automation causing software intelligence explosions, AI-enabled coups, and AI tools for existential security

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Anthropic: Commercial AI lab producing extensive safety research and policy engagement on transformative AI; comparable as a high-profile producer of AI safety research even though structured as a for-profit company.
• RAND Corporation: Large established think tank producing policy research on national security, emerging technology, and existential risks; relevant as a model of a research nonprofit that informs government decision-making at scale.

Direct peers

• Future of Life Institute: Nonprofit focused on existential risk and AI safety; produces policy research and advocacy on transformative AI, directly comparable as a grantmaking and research-oriented AI safety nonprofit.
• AI Now Institute: Research nonprofit producing interdisciplinary analysis of AI's social and economic implications; comparable mission of translating AI research into policy-relevant outputs.
• Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI): Long-running AI alignment research nonprofit founded on longtermist principles; comparable as a small, philosophically grounded research foundation working on superintelligent AI outcomes.
• Global Priorities Institute: Oxford-based research institute cofounded by William MacAskill that studies longtermist global priorities; deep thematic overlap with Forethought's mandate and shared intellectual lineage.
• Center on Long-Term Risk: Research nonprofit working on reducing long-term s-risks from advanced AI; Forethought's Mia Taylor previously served as Interim Research Director here, indicating strong topical and personnel overlap.
• Centre for AI Safety: Berkeley-based research and advocacy organization that studies and reduces societal-scale risks from AI; similar research-to-policy nonprofit model targeting AI existential risk.
• AI Impacts: Research organization studying AI timelines and transformative impacts through structured analysis; closely overlaps Forethought's intelligence explosion and AI capability forecasting work.

Emerging players

• Open Philanthropy: Major EA-aligned foundation that has funded much of the AI safety research ecosystem, including Tom Davidson's prior role; a key potential funder and thematic collaborator for Forethought.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@forethought_org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/forethought-org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Forethought Foundation for Global Priorities Research