Demetrius Floudas

Lawyer & Artificial Intelligence Policy Expert

United Kingdom

Demetrius A. Floudas is a transnational lawyer, a legal adviser specialising in tech and an AI governance & policy theorist. With extensive experience, he has counselled governments, corporations, and think-tanks on regulatory aspects of policy and technology.

He is part of the AI@Cam Unit at the University of Cambridge and Senior Visiting Scholar in AI Governance at Downing College; Affiliate Professor at the Law Faculty of Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, where he lectures on Artificial Intelligence Regulation. Moreover, he is a Fellow of the Hellenic Institute of International & Foreign Law and a practicing lawyer. He has worked for many years as a Policy & Geopolitical Adviser to cabinet-level decision-makers for several governments (until recently he was full-time the Regulatory Policy Lead for the British Foreign Office's Global Trade Programme) and consulted numerous international think-tanks and organisations.

In addition, D. Floudas has regularly provided incisive commentary on matters of Geopolitics, Foreign Affairs & International Relations to a number of respected international outlets, with his views frequently appearing in the media worldwide (BBC TV & Radio, Voice of America, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, Washington Post, Politico and others)

He is currently involved in the European AI Office's Plenary drafting the Code of Practice for General-Purpose Artificial Intelligence and is a member of the EU.AI. Working Group for AI Systemic Risks. Prof. Floudas participates in the British Government's Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Focus Group on an independent UK AI Safety Office and is a Reviewer of the Draft UNESCO Guidelines for the Use of AI Systems in Courts and Tribunals. He has consulted the French Data Protection Agency (CNIL) on its AI public information outreach documentation and commented on the OECD plan to introduce risk thresholds for advanced AI systems.

Demetrius Floudas is actively engaged in catastrophic risks analysis & mitigation policy and is the Editor in the 'Nuclear War' Section of the PhilPapers academic repository. He serves as the Senior Adviser to the Cambridge Existential Risk Initiative.

E-mail: floudas {at} cantab {dot} net

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Portfolio

Artificial Intelligence Policy & Regulation

A talk at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge
A Guide to real-life International Artificial Intelligence Policies in 2025

Part of the 2024 Induction Conference for the M.Phil. in Technology Policy of the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. Internationally, the previous months have seen radical changes in AI policy & regulation. Unfortunately, the policy measures adopted are approximately 4 years backdated and will be of no help to upcoming issues that will emerge. Such regulations do not consider longer-term risks, ethical dilemmas, social quandaries and governance challenges of further AI adoption.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFvw59Mdf8I
The Brian J. Matos Podcast
The Existential Threat of Advanced AI w/ Prof. Demetrius Floudas

Brian is joined by Professor Demetrius Floudas for a conversation on the risks and potential dangers of advanced artificial intelligence if not thoughtfully regulated. Demetrius A. Floudas is a transnational lawyer, a legal adviser specializing in tech and an AI regulatory & policy theorist. With extensive experience, he has counseled governments, corporations, and start-ups on regulatory aspects of policy and technology. He serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Law Faculty of...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfBKTYrkv1A
AI with Alex - Podcast
AI needs robust regulation urgently!

Interview with Demetrius Floudas: "Most people would come to resemble the Lotophagi of Homeric lore, ensnared in a permanent digital stupor, disconnected from the reality of human existence, forsaking past and future for an eternal virtual present, with absolutely no desire to return to their former lives."

Discussion on a Draft Submission to the EU AI Office Consultation 'Trustworthy General-Purpose AI'
Artificial General Intelligence Control & Non-Proliferation Treaty: A Blueprint for the Global...

We propose the following legal framework: machine intellect agents of a significantly higher capability than current models should be treated similarly to Weapons of Mass Destruction. A new international agency (along the lines of IAEA ) must be invested with inspection powers and a UN Security Council-backed mandate to guarantee safe governance and curtail infringements.

TechrXiv
A Proposed Taxonomy for the Evolutionary Stages of Artificial Intelligence: Towards a...

As artificial intelligence (AI) systems continue their rapid advancement, a framework for contextualizing the major transitional phases in the development of machine intellect becomes increasingly vital. This paper proposes a novel chronological classification scheme derived from Ancient Greek etymology to characterize the key temporal epochs in AI evolution. The Prenoëtic era, spanning all of history prior to the year 2020, is defined as the preliminary phase before substantive artificial...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh5Y3WE7PpQ
I. Kant Baltic Federal University, Faculty of Law, XII SS
'Regulating Artificial Intelligence Risks' Lectures

A series of courses on AI Law by D. A. Floudas: "Grave ethical and legal questions will be raised by the conundrum of ‘conscious’ non-biological structures. Self-aware entities typically encapsulate an intrinsic moral value, leading to rights that protect their well-being and freedom. If artificial sentience were conscious (or simulated it perfectly), this would prompt discussions about rights, equality, and its moral treatment. This debate will extend to the ramifications of creating or...

Other Existential Risks

Cambridge Existential Risk Initiative
Nuclear Strategy in the Ukraine War era

Queen's Lecture Theatre, Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge The ongoing conflict in Ukraine constitutes a poignant reminder of the enduring relevance and potential devastation associated with nuclear weapons.

Hughes Hall
Expanding Telemedicine Globally during the coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic has caused much of the world to move online, including a significant amount of day-to-day healthcare provision, and this change has brought to the fore the work of Demetrius Floudas, Hughes Hall alumnus and Associate, whose work on the Foreign Office Global Trade Programme telemedicine expansion policy currently forms part of the UK Government’s emergency COVID-19 global response.

Video Interviews