People– no linked people
Updated 04/02/26Funding Details
Updated 04/02/26- Annual Budget
- $1,456,000
- Current Runway
- -
- Funding Goal
- -
- Funding Raised to Date
- -
Org Details
Updated 04/02/26The Simon Institute for Longterm Governance (SI) is a Swiss non-profit think tank founded in April 2021 by Maxime Stauffer and Konrad Seifert. Based in Geneva at the Maison de la Paix, SI was originally established to strengthen the multilateral system's capacity to mitigate global catastrophic risks from emerging technologies. In 2023, SI narrowed its focus specifically to AI governance, recognizing AI as one of the most consequential technologies of our time. SI's current work centers on frontier AI diplomacy through three main activities: conducting research on international AI governance frameworks, facilitating dialogue between technical and policy communities, and training diplomats and civil servants about frontier AI's opportunities, risks, and governance solutions. The organization is named after Herbert Simon (1916-2001), the Nobel-winning economist and Turing Award recipient known for his work on complex decision-making, organizational behavior, and AI. SI has delivered significant contributions to international AI governance. The organization produced the first and most extensive UN report on existential risk and rapid technological change, supported the UN's Global Digital Compact process, and contributed to the establishment of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance. SI has conducted numerous capacity-building sessions, including a three-part AI Governance Briefing Series for Permanent Missions to the UN in Geneva and training courses on AI governance for UN Missions in New York. During its first two years, SI produced 39 publications and submissions, organized 44 events and workshops with over 800 attendees, made 10 public statements at UN conferences, and held approximately 1,500 external meetings with stakeholders across the UN system, academia, civil society, the private sector, and governments. In 2024, the team conducted over 800 calls with network partners, delivered five training programs for over 125 UN diplomats, met with more than 50 Missions across three New York trips, and organized a two-day workshop in Paris generating concrete action commitments from 25 participants ahead of the 2025 AI Action Summit. The team has grown from its two co-founders to approximately nine staff members, including specialists in tech diplomacy, tech policy, governance, and operations. SI operates independently without affiliation to any political parties and is funded by private and philanthropic donors who respect its independence in resource allocation.
Theory of Change
Updated 04/02/26SI believes that policymaking in national governments and international organizations is the most influential form of explicit value-driven coordination for safeguarding humanity's long-term future. The organization identifies a core problem: policymaking systematically underweights the interests of future generations, and governance structures are not equipped to handle the pace and scale of transformative technology development. SI aims to improve what it calls 'long-term institutional fit' -- the capacity of policy networks to protect humanity's long-term potential -- through three dimensions: changing dominant societal narratives to incorporate future generations, reforming institutions to account for future interests, and ensuring policy agendas address tail risks. Rather than simply providing information, SI equips policy actors with tools to handle information overload and facilitate collective decision-making, building sustained communities of practice. By working at the intersection of the AI technical community and the multilateral governance system, particularly the UN, SI aims to ensure that international governance frameworks for frontier AI are well-informed, practically effective, and account for catastrophic and existential risks.
Grants Received
Updated 04/02/26Projects– no linked projects
Updated 04/02/26Discussion
Key risk: Their UN-centric diplomacy may translate into soft outputs that don’t materially constrain frontier labs or national regulators, and the planned pivot to China adds access and execution risk for a small Geneva-based team.
Case for funding: With rare embedded credibility in UN channels and a track record of inserting x-risk-aware analysis into live multilateral processes (UN existential risk report, Global Digital Compact, International Scientific Panel on AI) while training over 125 UN diplomats and convening commitments ahead of the 2025 AI Action Summit, SI is positioned to shape international norms and coordination on frontier AI where few EA-aligned actors can operate.