Research Scholars Programme

The Research Scholars Programme (RSP) was a selective research fellowship run by the Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) at the University of Oxford, within the Faculty of Philosophy. Founded in 2018 and directed by mathematician Owen Cotton-Barratt, the programme provided two-year salaried positions to early-career researchers, giving them the freedom and mentorship to explore questions critical to humanity's long-term future. The programme was born from the observation that very few academics at FHI had followed a straightforward academic path to their work on existential risk and related topics. RSP aimed to address this by creating a structured environment where talented, curious thinkers could step back early in their careers to consider what research areas were most important to work on. Scholars had near-total freedom in selecting their research direction, supported by six-week project cycles, quarterly reviews, advisory boards, project supervisors, and coaching opportunities. RSP ran three cohorts: the first began in October 2018 with 9 scholars (selected from roughly 150 applicants, a 6% acceptance rate), the second expanded to 10 scholars (from approximately 250 applicants, a 4% acceptance rate), and the third cohort of 8 scholars was planned to start in April 2021. Research topics spanned AI safety and autonomy, transformative narrow AI, atomically precise manufacturing, heavy-tailed distributions of altruistic impact, policy engagement, and community building. The programme was funded primarily through Open Philanthropy, which provided two grants totaling approximately $1.59 million specifically for the RSP, plus an additional $3.12 million over two years for FHI's early career researcher programs more broadly. The Survival and Flourishing Fund also contributed $248,000 for general support of the RSP. About half of RSP scholars were recruited through cold applications, supporting the goal of reducing insularity in the effective altruism research community. Owen Cotton-Barratt resigned from FHI in August 2021, criticizing aspects of institute management. The broader FHI faced a hiring and fundraising freeze imposed by the Faculty of Philosophy starting in 2020, and ultimately closed on April 16, 2024, after 19 years of operation. RSP alumni went on to roles at leading AI labs, think tanks, government agencies, and academic institutions, including Oxford's Institute for Ethics in AI.

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