Welcome

The Oxford Martin Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology, launched in September 2011, is an interdisciplinary horizontal Programme within the Oxford Martin School in collaboration with the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford University. The Programme, which is directed by Professor Nick Bostrom, works closely with the Future of Humanity Institute; the Institute for the Future of Computing, the Oxford University Computing Laboratory (Professor Bill Roscoe) and the Oxford e-Research Centre (Professor Anne Trefethen); the Institute for Science and Ethics (Professor Julian Savulescu); and other Oxford Martin School Institutes. Professor David Deutsch (Department of Atomic and Laser Physics, Centre for Quantum Computation, Clarendon Laboratory) serves as a senior consultant.

The Oxford Martin Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology analyzes possibilities related to long-range technological change and the potential social impacts of future transformative technologies. Research foci include issues related to the future of computing, existential risks, and methodology, including the following areas: Changing rates of change; Automation and complexity barriers; Machine intelligence capabilities and safety; Novel applications and unexpected societal impacts: Predictability horizons; and Existential risks and future technologies.

Director

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Professor Nick Bostrom

Nick Bostrom is Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy and Director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University. He previously taught at Yale University. His current research centers on big picture questions for humanity, with foci on issues in the foundations of probability theory, scientific methodology and rationality, human enhancement, global catastrophic risks, moral philosophy, and consequences of future technology.