https://app.grantmaking.ai/projects/e6a4e10a-c9ae-4356-9924-2c52f541a599
-We have drafted an initial Freedom of Information (FOI) request concerning advanced AI risks, addressed to EU Member States. We are currently updating it following review by the Future of Life Institute team, and it will be finalised after a second review by a technology law professor.
- The FOI requests will be submitted in several EU Member States. We will report on the responses, analyse the findings, and provide comparative insights into how different governments understand and address catastrophic and existential AI risks.
- Governments often avoid publicly answering questions about these risks. The requests will create a public record of governments’ awareness, internal thinking, and actions taken.
- Findings may support transparency and accountability, as well as inform future legal and policy work, and provide civil society with evidence for more informed and targeted advocacy.
- Here's an introduction to our organisation.
Activities
- Finalise and submit FOI requests on catastrophic and existential AI risks in several EU Member States
- Analyse and compare the responses
- Publish findings and communicate them to policymakers, civil society and the public
Outputs
- Government responses collected
- Comparative report on awareness, approaches, preparedness, and action
- Public record of how governments are thinking about and addressing advanced AI risks
Interim outcomes
- Better targeted national advocacy
- Better governmental responses to x-risks questions due to visibility and public pressure
- Greater transparency about government awareness and preparedness
- Gaps, inconsistencies, and promising approaches identified
- Increased public and political pressure on governments that are not adequately addressing the risks
Long-term outcomes
- Stronger government accountability and preparedness
- More consistent action across Member States
- Greater democratic oversight of decisions concerning advanced AI
Impact: Greater transparency and accountability and better-targeted advocacy encourage governments to take advanced AI risks more seriously and strengthen preventive action, contributing to reduced catastrophic and existential AI risk.
- Staff time to finalise, submit and track FOI requests
- Staff time to follow up on responses and coordinate complaints or appeals
- Staff time to analyse and compare findings across Member States
- Staff time to write and publish the final report
- Legal review and advice on national access-to-information rules
- Translation and local legal support
- Communications, design and dissemination
- Administration and contingency costs
Min. €10,000: FOI requests in around 4–6 Member States, limited translation, basic follow-up, analysis and a short comparative report.
Max. €20,000: Requests in around 8- 10 Member States, translation and local legal input, more extensive follow-up or appeals, and a stronger report and communications package.
The number of countries is the primary cost driver, as national procedures and languages vary.
- Raphaël Weuts: EU AI law and governance expert; author of On Accuracy of European AI Law (2026); advised the Belgian government and MEPs on the EU AI Act/GPAI Code; developed INASTI-RSVZ’s framework; led medical AI projects; former visiting professor in AI.
- Karolina Gruzel: Successif's AI Policy Strategy Fellow, successfully managed cyber attribution legal project; founded Moral Ambition for AI; op-eds (one, two, three), supported GAIGANow development and communications; Educational background in European and International Law and PPE.
- Cristian Teodorescu: Senior government/industry/ngo professional; awarded multiple times for humanitarian work; internal distinctions for inter-agency cooperation with the EU; granted off-cycle promotion for resilient and effective leadership on high-impact international affairs projects; given the highest-level national security clearance of an EU member state; Educational background in Human Rights Law.
- Raluca Spataru: Romanian lawyer with 15 years’ experience.
- Didier Coeurnelle: AI governance advocate, co-organised PauseCon Brussels, ordered a global ASI attitudes poll, speaker at WSIS Forum 2026 and LSAIR 2026, published author and active in civil society, including the Steering Committee of Global AI Governance Alliance; Belgian lawyer.
- Anonymous - Senior Ops and Finance professional.
- Two volunteers, Julia (graphic designer) and Harry Turnbull (website designer)
We have drafted an initial Freedom of Information (FOI) request related to advanced AI risks, aimed at Member States, and are currently finalising it following review by the Future of Life Institute team. Once we are established, the FOI requests will be submitted in a number of Member States, and we plan to report on the outcomes.
We have begun building our network. We have established a relationship with Pause AI and are working with them to update their onboarding process so that volunteers with legal backgrounds can be directed to us. Through attending conferences, we have connected with several experts in the field, including individuals involved with the EU AI Office, who have expressed a willingness to stay in touch and be informed about future opportunities for collaboration.
We have secured pro bono collaboration from a global law firm, which will help us register our NGO in Brussels and is open to supporting us further, for example by contributing some hours to our research or connecting us with lawyers interested in AI risks.
Our Board member, Didier Cournelle, introduced Law for AI Safety’s mission at the 2nd International Conference on Large-Scale AI Risks.
On 25 June, three members of our team — Raphaël Weuts, Karolina Gruzel, and Cristian Teodorescu — participated in the “AI Act in Romania: From Regulation to Implementation” conference at the European Parliament in Brussels. The event was hosted by Maria Grapini, Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, and attended by, among others, Victor Negrescu, Vice-President of the European Parliament; Brando Benifei, former co-rapporteur on the EU AI Act; Martin Ulbrich, AI Policy Officer at the European Commission; and representatives of Romanian industry.
Our team’s contributions emphasised the importance of implementing AI literacy, the need for Europe to strengthen its AI leverage, and the fact that large-scale AI risks also pose serious threats to businesses. Our team also underlined that stakeholders across sectors should encourage leaders to prioritise a global treaty on AI.
The primary uncertainty is not whether the project can be executed, but the content of the responses we receive, which will influence subsequent actions and outcomes.
We have not raised any external funding in the last 12 months.