AI Propensity Research Scientist (CAST)

AI Propensity Research Scientist (CAST) in City of London

City of London Full-Time No home office possible

About the AI Security Institute

The AI Security Institute is the worlds largest and best-funded team dedicated to understanding advanced AI risks and translating that knowledge into action. Were in the heart of the UK government with direct lines to No. 10 (the Prime Ministers office) and we work with frontier developers and governments globally.

Were here because governments are critical for advanced AI going well and UK AISI is uniquely positioned to mobilise them. With our resources unique agility and international influence this is the best place to shape both AI development and government action.

Please note applications for this position close 30th November 2025 at 23 : 59 anywhere on earth.

Role Summary

Within the Cyber & Autonomous Systems Team (CAST) at AISI the Propensity project studies unprompted or unintended model behaviour particularly potentially dangerous behaviour : the propensity of a model to cause harm. Our current project is to study effect sizes of environmental factors on these propensities e.g. whether models are consistently more willing to take harmful actions when their existence is threatened. We build on previous work on this field by scaling to a range of different scenarios and variations and looking particularly for effects that are consistent throughout.

Understanding model propensities is the key missing pillar in our overall picture of risk from autonomous AI. We already know that models have sufficient knowledge and ability to assist criminal users in conducting cyberattacks and causing significant harm. If they can also spontaneously develop the inclination to cause harm unprompted the nature and scale of the threat is transformed. To justify a response sufficient to address this unprecedented threat we need empirical evidence with strong scientific credibility.

In CAST within AISI through our relationships with the rest of the UK government and national security apparatus (and their relationships with international counterparts) we have a unique ability to understand what they need and get it in front of them.