Global Priorities Institute

Description

The Global Priorities Institute (GPI) is an interdisciplinary research centre located at the University of Oxford. Its objective is to conduct foundational research that informs the decision-making of individuals and institutions striving to maximise their positive impact. The institute prioritises topics that are important, neglected, and tractable, utilising various disciplines, primarily philosophy and economics, to explore these issues.

Their aim is to conduct foundational research that informs decision-making for individuals and institutions seeking to maximise their positive impact. They employ a multidisciplinary approach, particularly drawing from philosophy and economics, to explore the relevant issues. They prioritise projects that address crucial considerations not typically addressed by mainstream academic research. These projects aim to contribute in ways that are unlikely to be fulfilled through conventional academic means.

In light of the scarcity of resources and the numerous problems in the world, an actor aiming to maximise their positive impact must prioritise both among the problems themselves and the means to tackle them.

The process of prioritisation requires meticulous analysis since certain opportunities to do good are considerably more cost-effective than others. However, identifying these opportunities necessitates grappling with complex questions, such as evaluating different outcomes, predicting the effects of actions, acting under uncertainty, and identifying practical proxies for the criteria that truly matter. These topics, which are currently relatively neglected in academia, form a crucial subset within this broad class.

The Global Priorities Institute exists to develop and promote rigorous, scientific approaches to the question of how motivated actors can effectively do good, with a specific focus on areas that lack comprehensive academic research.

Their vision is a world where evidence and reason are used to determine global priorities and maximise the greater good. Their mission is to conduct and promote world-class, foundational academic research on how to most effectively do good.

GPI's primary research focus is what they term "global priorities research." This research delves into issues arising from the question of how an actor can best utilise limited resources to maximise their positive impact. This question draws upon central themes in economics and philosophy.

Their research agenda is divided as follows:

• Longtermism Paradigm: This section revolves around the idea that the actions with the greatest impact are those that affect the long-term future of sentient life. Given the potential vastness of this future portion of history, GPI's primary research (at the time of writing and predicted for the next two years) is dedicated to exploring these neglected ideas, which may have significant implications if correct. GPI welcomes collaboration and input from researchers who share this interest.
• General Issues in Cause Prioritisation: This section covers topics that are not specific to a longtermist perspective but are relevant to agents engaged in global prioritisation.

The intended audience for this research agenda is primarily academics, particularly those in economics and philosophy. They are encouraged to consider working with GPI as researchers or external collaborators, or to engage with the mission in other ways.

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

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University affiliation(s)

University of Oxford
University Offices
Wellington Square
Oxford
OX1 2JD