A structured reference to the individuals shaping artificial intelligence across research, industry, governance, ethics, and public discourse. Curated as a resource for professionals navigating the AI landscape. For more see the full list at AI People.

AI Safety, Alignment, and Existential Risk

Stuart Russell | Value Alignment, AI Foundations | United States Co-author of the definitive AI textbook ("Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach") who became a leading voice on alignment challenges. His book "Human Compatible" reframes AI development around uncertainty over human preferences rather than fixed objectives. Key works: "AI: A Modern Approach" (2020), "Human Compatible" (2019)

Nick Bostrom | Existential Risk, Superintelligence | United Kingdom Philosopher whose "Superintelligence" (2014) framed AI alignment as a civilisational challenge. Founded Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute. His work made AI safety a mainstream concern among researchers and policymakers before the current wave of AI progress. Key works: "Superintelligence" (2014)

Eliezer Yudkowsky | Alignment Theory, Risk Communication | United States Co-founded the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and has written extensively on AI alignment challenges since 2001. His detailed scenarios of misaligned AI systems have shaped how the field thinks about potential failure modes. A persistent voice for taking catastrophic risks seriously. Key works: Long-form alignment essays, MIRI research direction

Paul Christiano | Alignment Techniques, RLHF | United States Developed foundational techniques for aligning AI systems with human preferences, contributing to the RLHF methods now used to train ChatGPT and Claude. Founded the Alignment Research Center (ARC). His technical work bridges abstract alignment theory and practical methods. Key works: RLHF lineage, scalable oversight proposals, ARC

Jan Leike | Scalable Alignment | United Kingdom Led alignment research at OpenAI before departing in 2024 over concerns about safety prioritisation. Co-leads superalignment efforts focused on using AI systems to help align more powerful AI. His departure highlighted tensions between safety research and deployment pressure. Key works: Scalable alignment research, superalignment

Chris Olah | Interpretability, Mechanistic Understanding | United States Pioneered neural network interpretability research, developing techniques to understand what happens inside neural networks. Co-founded Anthropic's interpretability team. His visual explanations of neural network behaviour have made the field's work accessible to broader audiences. Key works: Neural network visualisations, circuits research

Dan Hendrycks | Safety Benchmarks, Risk Research | United States Created benchmarks for measuring AI robustness, safety, and dangerous capabilities. His work on evaluating AI risks provides concrete metrics for tracking safety progress. Leads the Center for AI Safety. Key works: MMLU benchmark, robustness benchmarks, CAIS

Toby Ord | Existential Risk, Ethics | United Kingdom Philosopher who synthesised existential risks in "The Precipice," arguing that AI poses significant risks this century. Co-founded Giving What We Can and the Centre for Effective Altruism. Bridges academic philosophy and practical risk reduction. Key works: "The Precipice" (2020)

Max Tegmark | AI Risk Communication, Physics Perspectives | United States MIT physicist who founded the Future of Life Institute and co-organised the Asilomar AI Principles. His book "Life 3.0" brought AI safety concerns to popular audiences. Bridges physics, AI research, and public communication. Key works: "Life 3.0" (2017), Future of Life Institute

Ajeya Cotra | AI Forecasting | United States Authored influential reports forecasting AI timelines using biological anchors and compute trends. Her work at Open Philanthropy shapes how funders and researchers think about when transformative AI might arrive and how to prepare. Key works: Biological anchors report, AI forecasting

Jack Clark | AI Policy, Safety Advocacy | United States Co-founded Anthropic after serving as Policy Director at OpenAI. His "Import AI" newsletter has tracked AI progress for years. Bridges technical AI development with policy implications. Key works: Import AI newsletter, Anthropic co-founding, policy advocacy

Helen Toner | AI Governance, Security | United States Director at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Former OpenAI board member whose tenure included the November 2023 crisis. Her research on AI governance and international competition informs policy discussions. Key works: AI governance research, CSET, policy analysis

How to Use This Directory

For research: Each entry includes key works and affiliations for deeper investigation.

For event planning: Filter by geographic base, domain, or public engagement experience.

For understanding the field: The categorisation reveals how different communities, from technical researchers, ethicists, policymakers, industry leaders all shape AI development.

For identifying perspectives: Note whose voices are included and whose might be missing from any particular AI conversation.

This directory is maintained as a resource for the AI age. Last updated: 2026.

Curated by Rahim Hirji for thesuperskills.com.

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