Share this article
Future of Life Institute to Launch Vitalik Buterin Fellowships Centered on AI Safety Research
The institute studies ways artificial intelligence can help mankind.
Updated Apr 14, 2024, 10:49 p.m. Published Sep 24, 2021, 5:37 a.m.
The Future of Life Institute, a charity and outreach organization, is launching two fellowship programs named after Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin.
The Vitalik Buterin Ph.D. and postdoctoral fellowships are centered on “existential safety research” in artificial intelligence (AI), the institute announced Tuesday.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Funding for the Ph.D. fellowship provides up to $40,000 a year for five years (with the possibility of extensions), and will cover tuition fees and a stipend. An additional $10,000 will be provided for research-related expenses including travel and computing, according to the announcement.
Fellows will also be able to interact with other researchers in workshops. The institute is “working to ensure that tomorrow’s most powerful technologies are beneficial for humanity,” its website reads. Specifically, the Future of Life Institute focuses on keeping artificial intelligence “beneficial,” while exploring ways of reducing risks from nuclear weapons and biotechnology.
The Vitalik Buterin Postdoctoral Fellowship in AI Existential Safety is for postdoctoral appointments starting next fall.
Funding is for three years subject to annual renewals based on satisfactory progress reports. The fellowship includes an annual $80,000 stipend and a fund of up to $10,000 that can be used for research-related expenses such as travel and computing.
Buterin is a Russian-Canadian programmer and crypto heavyweight. In 2015, Buterin, Joseph Lubin, Gavin Wood and others launched the Ethereum blockchain – a platform on which users can create decentralized apps.
The program is targeted at students applying to start their Ph.D. in 2022. Applications for the Ph.D. fellowship close on Oct. 29, while applications for the postdoctoral fellowship close on Nov. 5.
Read more: DeFi Meets AI: Fetch.ai Launches ‘Intelligent Automation’ for Uniswap V2 and PancakeSwap
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Brazil’s Largest Asset Manager Recommends Investors Put Up to 3% of their Money in Bitcoin to Hedge Against FX, Market Shocks
The recommendation is in line with other global asset managers like BlackRock and Bank of America suggesting small portfolio allocations to the largest cryptocurrency.
What to know:
- Itaú Asset Management recommends Brazilian investors allocate 1-3% of portfolios to bitcoin for diversification, citing its low correlation with traditional assets.
- The recommendation is a measured approach, suggesting a small, steady exposure to bitcoin as a complementary asset.
- In a year-end analyst’s note, the firm called for a disciplined, long-term mindset, warning against market timing and suggesting that a small allocation can act as a partial hedge and offer access to global returns.
Top Stories
