A directory of people and organisations explaining AI risk to the public, across both the existential-risk and present-day-harms conversations.
Last updated 4 September 2026
Listing here is not an endorsement. These bios describe what each person or organisation does; Common Signals does not rate, rank or assess them. We list across both the existential-risk and present-day-harms conversations, on purpose.
United States
Berkeley nonprofit founded in 2000 that argues building superintelligence with current methods would most likely cause human extinction. Its president Nate Soares co-wrote the 2025 book If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies and calls for a global moratorium on superintelligence development.
Canada
British-Canadian computer scientist and University of Toronto professor emeritus whose neural network research earned the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics. Since leaving Google in 2023 he has spoken publicly about a meaningful chance that advanced AI could lead to human extinction.
Canada
Turing Award winner and Université de Montréal professor who chairs the International AI Safety Report and founded the nonprofit LawZero in 2025. He argues that frontier AI could pose catastrophic risks and advocates safe-by-design, non-agentic systems.
United States
British-born UC Berkeley professor, co-author of the standard AI textbook and author of Human Compatible. He directs the Center for Human-Compatible AI and argues that unchecked development of superhuman AI poses a serious risk of loss of human control.
United Kingdom
UK not-for-profit campaigning to prevent extinction risk from superintelligent AI. It briefs parliamentarians and runs public campaigns calling for a ban on superintelligence development.
Global
Volunteer-led movement founded in the Netherlands in 2023 that campaigns for an international pause on training the most powerful AI systems until they can be made safe. It runs protests, lobbying and local chapters, including a UK chapter and a separate PauseAI US.
United States
Nonprofit founded in 2014 that works to steer transformative technologies away from extreme large-scale risks, with a focus on AI, biotechnology and nuclear weapons. It organised the 2023 open letter calling for a pause on giant AI experiments and funds policy work, grants and public education.
United Kingdom
AI researcher who co-founded EleutherAI and the London AI safety company Conjecture in 2022. In 2026 he stepped down as Conjecture chief executive to become US director of ControlAI, and is a frequent media voice warning of extinction risk from superintelligence.
United Kingdom
UK science communicator whose Robert Miles AI Safety YouTube channel explains alignment problems and existential risk to a general audience. He also appears on Computerphile and works on the aisafety.info explainer project.
United Kingdom
London nonprofit that provides careers advice aimed at the world's most pressing problems, and rates risks from advanced AI as its top priority. Its long-form podcast with Rob Wiblin features many of the field's leading researchers and policy figures.
United States
San Francisco nonprofit led by Dan Hendrycks that works to reduce societal-scale risks from AI through research, field-building and advocacy. It coordinated the 2023 statement, signed by many leading researchers, that AI extinction risk should be a global priority alongside pandemics and nuclear war.
United Kingdom
Independent London research institute, established by the Nuffield Foundation, working to ensure data and AI serve people and society. Publishes research and policy analysis on AI regulation, public attitudes, algorithmic accountability and the use of AI in public services.
United Kingdom
UK campaign, led by Jeni Tennison, working to give communities a powerful say in decisions about data and AI. Runs public participation projects, policy advocacy and the People's Panel on AI, focused on collective rather than purely individual data rights.
United States
Computer scientist and founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, whose Gender Shades research exposed racial and gender bias in commercial facial analysis systems. Author of Unmasking AI and featured in the documentary Coded Bias.
United States
Computer scientist who co-led Google's Ethical AI team before her contested departure in 2020, then founded the Distributed AI Research Institute. DAIR conducts community-rooted research on AI harms, including labour exploitation, surveillance and the concentration of power in large technology firms.
United States
Professor of computational linguistics at the University of Washington and co-author of the stochastic parrots paper on large language model risks. Co-hosts the Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 podcast with Alex Hanna and co-wrote The AI Con.
United States
Cognitive scientist, emeritus professor at NYU and founder of two AI companies, known for sustained criticism of large language model reliability and industry hype. Writes the Marcus on AI newsletter and testified to the US Senate on AI oversight in 2023.
United States
Journalist who has covered AI for MIT Technology Review, the Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic. Her 2025 book Empire of AI examines OpenAI and the global labour, resource and power costs of the AI industry.
United States
New York policy research institute, co-directed by Amba Kak and Sarah Myers West, studying the social and economic effects of AI. Its work focuses on industry concentration, competition, labour and the power of large technology companies over AI development.
United Kingdom
British investigative journalist who exposed the Cambridge Analytica scandal for The Observer and The Guardian. Now writes the How to Survive the Broligarchy newsletter and podcast on the political power of technology billionaires, disinformation and threats to democracy.
United Kingdom
UK charity founded by Baroness Beeban Kidron working for children's rights in the digital environment. It shaped the Age Appropriate Design Code and has published a Children and AI Design Code setting out how AI systems should address foreseeable risks to children.
United Kingdom
Technology researcher and former chief executive of Doteveryone, now leading the Careful Industries research studio. Her work covers responsible technology, digital identity and community tech, and she writes the Just Enough Internet newsletter.
We're looking for people and organisations who meet all three:
We don't list lab communications accounts, vendors selling AI products or services, or academics who only publish for other researchers.