The Polymath Initiative

What is the Polymath Initiative?

The Polymath Initiative is a project that was launched by the GCSP in May 2021. It seeks to address the “silo thinking” which can lead to policy and governance failures when anticipating the consequences of emerging technologies on societies. This initiative aims to reduce gaps in understanding and communication between the scientific community and the policymaking world. By promoting a “polymath thinking” approach, the GCSP hopes to create a community of scholars on emerging technologies that are conscious of the ethical, security and governance implications. To this effect, three professionals, each specialising in an emerging technology (artificial intelligence, synthetic biology and neuroscience) are offered a 2-year fellowship programme at the GCSP, thanks to the support of the Didier & Martine Primat Foundation. It is expected that the selected scholars will then become influencers in their own scientific communities and they will also be equipped to advocate for “polymath thinking” in the field of emerging technologies and be able to bridge the gap between the tech and science communities and the world of policy and decision-makers.

Why is the GCSP launching this initiative?

The Global and Emerging Risks cluster is deeply involved in understanding and raising awareness about the security and strategic implications of emerging technologies for international peace and security. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and neurotechnology, are increasingly having deep economic, ethical, social, political and security impacts. However, thinking about the societal implications of these technologies remains siloed. Too often do we see technology developments that are not concerned with policy, and policies that are out of touch with technology. Therefore, there is a need for “translators”, individuals able to talk to both the scientific and the policy communities and bridge this gap. Fostering “polymath thinking” is the key strategy this programme is adopting to overcome silo thinking and help deal with the ethical, security and governance challenges stemming from emerging technologies.

 

Launch Webinar

Polymath Initiative – NATO PfPC panel on swarming and the future of warfare : feasibility, impacts, governance at the 2023 REAIM Conference

Polymath Initiative – NATO PfPC panel on Impacts of AI Technological Convergence on International Security at the 2024 REAIM Conference (read the summary report of the breakout session here)

The Fellowship Programme

The fellowship programme will last two years and will be conducted under the auspices of the Global and Emerging Risks cluster and the Global Fellowship Initiative (GFI). In their first year, the fellows will be given the opportunity to attend and contribute to GCSP workshops, events, courses in order to familiarise themselves with the issues related to global governance, ethics and international peace and security. In their second year, the fellows will then have the opportunity to contribute to GCSP publications on these topics, in addition. Throughout their fellowship, fellows will have access to the GCSP’s wide network of experts and alumni. Successful candidates should have deep technical expertise in synthetic biology, artificial intelligence or neuroscience and a desire to learn more about the governance and ethical and security implications of emerging technologies and the willingness to share their insights with non-specialists.

Support

The Polymath initiative is generously supported by the Didier and Martine Primat Foundation.

The Didier et Martine Primat Foundation is a Swiss-based registered charity. Its purpose is to raise public awareness of the global challenges caused by human activities and help to shape a more responsible world by supporting educational projects and concrete actions that encourage a more conscious and sustainable way of life.

Experts

Dr Jean-Marc Rickli
Head of Global and Emerging Risks
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Ms Anne-Caroline Pissis Martel
Director of Global Fellowship Initiative and Creative Spark
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Mr Tobias Knappe
Project and Research Officer
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Dr Barry O’Sullivan
Polymath Fellow, Artificial Intelligence at the GCSP – Full Professor, School of Computer Science & IT at University College Cork
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Dr Kate Adamala
Polymath Fellow, Synthetic Biology, at the GCSP – Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota
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Dr Renaud Jolivet
Polymath Fellow, Neurotechnology, at the GCSP – Professor of Neural Engineering & Computation at the Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology at Maastricht University
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2021-2023 Fellows
  • Dr Kevin Esvelt – Synthetic Biology Fellow – Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab.
  • Dr Sandra Scott Hayward – Artificial Intelligence Fellow – Senior Lecturer, School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Queen’s University Belfast.
  • Dr Ricardo Chavarriaga – Neurotechnology fellow – Head of the Swiss office of the Confederation of Laboratories for AI Research in Europe, Senior Researcher at Zürich University of Applied Sciences.

Partner

Fondation Didier et Marine Primat

Publications