Allan Dafoe
As of October 2026, Allan Dafoe is Senior Director of Frontier Strategy and Governance at Google DeepMind. Before 2016 he was a professor at Yale, where he focused on great-power peace. He received a 2015 Leamer-Rosenthal Prize in the Emerging Researcher category. The Centre for the Governance of AI (GovAI) began at Yale in 2016, and he became its founding director. In 2021 he headed DeepMind's Long-Term AI Strategy and Governance Team, and by 2025 he directed frontier safety and governance there.
Timeline
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2015
A Leamer-Rosenthal Prize
He receives the 2015 Leamer-Rosenthal Prize in the Emerging Researcher category.
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By 2016
A Yale professorship
He works as a professor at Yale before 2016, focusing on great-power peace.
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2016
Founding GovAI at Yale
He becomes the founding director of the Centre for the Governance of AI (GovAI), which is founded at Yale University in 2016.
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2021
Heading DeepMind's strategy team
In 2021 he heads DeepMind's Long-Term AI Strategy and Governance Team, after founding GovAI.
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By 2025
Directing frontier safety and governance
By 2025 he directs frontier safety and governance at Google DeepMind.
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As of October 2026
Senior director at Google DeepMind
He is Senior Director of Frontier Strategy and Governance at Google DeepMind. Alongside that, he is a founder and trustee of the Cooperative AI Foundation.
Sources and credits
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