Launched in 2016 with a 10 year £10m grant from the Leverhulme Trust, the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence has established a position of global leadership in research on the ethics and impacts of AI. Its many achievements in just five years include 200+ publications, impact on government policy, and the launch of a first-of-its-kind master’s degree in AI ethics and society. Stephen Cave will now step up as Director to steer the Centre into the years ahead. 

Since its launch in 2016, LCFI has been led by Academic Director, Professor Huw Price, (former Bertrand Russell Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge) and Executive Director, Dr Stephen Cave. Professor Price has now stepped down as Academic Director, planning to spend more time at his home in Australia and as Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Bonn, Germany. Price will remain closely involved in the LCFI team, and will now chair its Strategy Board. Dr Cave has stepped into the new role of Centre Director (a Director of Research position that subsumes both the Academic and Executive roles). 

According to Professor Anna Vignoles CBE FBA, Director of the Leverhulme Trust, “The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence is tackling some of the most pressing questions facing humanity, such as our approach to the use of artificial intelligence. I am delighted that Dr Stephen Cave has been appointed to lead the Centre to undertake this vital research.”

In just 5 years, the Centre has produced over 200 publications, including groundbreaking reports, policy papers and books for both experts and the general public. This year, the LCFI moved beyond research and policy by launching a world-class education programme which leverages its uniquely multidisciplinary expertise to equip future leaders within industry and government to shape an AI future that is ethical, equitable and just. 

Professor Price believes the reshaping of Centre leadership places the LCFI in an even greater position of strength as it looks forward to the next five years and beyond. 

Price explains: “Much of what LCFI has achieved in the past five years is due to Stephen, and I am delighted that he will be leading the Centre in the years ahead. More than that, I’m delighted that LCFI has grown to such a rich and remarkable team. It’s been a privilege to be part of it through its early years, and I’m looking forward to my new role. I’m enormously grateful to the Leverhulme Trust for making it all possible. It’s been a pleasure to work with such a far-sighted organisation.” 

Dr Cave noted that, “It is an honour to lead such a fantastic team of people. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, but they are all passionate about shaping the AI revolution for the good. I am hugely grateful to Huw for his vision in founding our Centre, and to the Leverhulme Trust for their ongoing support.” 

The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI) is a highly interdisciplinary research centre addressing the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI). Funded primarily by the Leverhulme Trust, LCFI is based at the University of Cambridge, with partners at the University of Oxford, Imperial College, and UC Berkeley, and close links with industry and policymakers. CFI’s uniquely interdisciplnary structure brings together academics from disciplines as diverse as philosophy, machine learning, politics, critical studies, design, law and media in order to explore the possibilities of AI in both the short and long term.

For more information about this story, please contact:  
Dorian Peters 
Email: dp605@cam.ac.uk