Max Tegmark

Max Tegmark (born 5 May 1967[1]) is a Swedish-American physicist, machine learning researcher and author. He is a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He co-founded and leads the Future of Life Institute, a nonprofit focused on reducing global catastrophic risks from advanced technologies.[2] Originally a cosmologist, Tegmark's focus shifted toward artificial intelligence (AI). His 2017 book Life 3.0 presents scenarios for what the world might look like as AI continues to develop.[3] Tegmark advocates for a halt on the development of artificial superintelligence.[4] Max Erik Tegmark was born Max Erik Shapiro[5][6] in Stockholm, Sweden,[7] on 5 May 1967,[1] to Karin Tegmark and mathematician Harold S. Shapiro.[8] Tegmark grew up in Bromma, Stockholm. During his studies at Blackeberg's high school, he worked as a volunteer for the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society, campaigning for nuclear disarmament.[8][9] While studying at the University of California at Berkeley, he adopted his mother's surname Tegmark, as there were many astronomers named Shapiro, including one of his professors.[6][8] While in high school, Tegmark and a friend, Magnus Bodin, created and sold a word processor, Teddy, written in machine code for the Swedish eight-bit computer ABC 80 as a summer project, which was marketed "in a very modest manner" by Liber Läromedel,[5] and—per Tegman's autobiographical description—he also coded a 3D Tetris-like game called Frac.[6]: p.55