Simon McGregor
Simon McGregor is a researcher in the Department of Informatics at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK. His research applies information-theoretic, Bayesian, and category-theoretic formalisms to characterize how physical and biological systems exhibit apparently rational, goal-directed behavior. He received a grant from Open Philanthropy in 2023 to organize a workshop on AI risk, and co-organized the '(In)human Values and Artificial Agency' special session at the 2023 Conference on Artificial Life alongside researchers from DeepMind and Sussex, explicitly addressing the intersection of AI safety and artificial life.
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- Funding Raised to Date
- $7,000
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Theory of Change
McGregor's theory of change is grounded in foundational research: by developing rigorous formal frameworks for understanding how physical and computational systems exhibit agency, goal-directedness, and values, his work provides theoretical underpinnings for AI alignment and safety research. Convening interdisciplinary workshops brings together AI safety researchers with the artificial life community, fostering cross-pollination of ideas and expanding the pool of researchers engaged with AI safety problems.
Grants Received
from Open Philanthropy
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Details
- Last Updated
- Mar 22, 2026, 12:23 AM UTC
- Created
- Mar 20, 2026, 2:34 AM UTC