European Governments
European governments have the power, and responsibility, to protect the public from foreseeable catastrophic risks posed by transformative technologies. We work to turn those responsibilities into timely, practical and proportionate action.
Why government action matters
Governments shape how transformative technologies are developed, distributed and used. They regulate markets, issue export licences, supervise compliance and enforce safety requirements. Their decisions can strengthen safeguards and transparency across the technology ecosystem, including where commercial or geopolitical pressures may otherwise favour speed over safety and allow risks to be borne by society.
Decisions about which technological risks society accepts, and on what terms, should not be left solely to private companies. European governments have both the authority and the legal tools to influence whether powerful AI systems and other high-consequence technologies are developed and deployed responsibly.
From foreseeable risk to preventive action
Catastrophic technological risks are not solely matters of policy discretion. Where serious harm is reasonably foreseeable, existing legal frameworks may require governments to take reasonable and proportionate measures to protect life, health and other fundamental interests before that harm occurs.
JUST examines what those responsibilities mean for concrete government decisions. This includes how authorities regulate and supervise powerful technologies, assess the end use of advanced compute and other dual-use capabilities, attach safeguards to export licences, enforce existing requirements and provide sufficient transparency for meaningful scrutiny.
Turning legal responsibility into practical safeguards
European governments are not starting from a blank page. Human rights obligations, WMD non-proliferation commitments, dual-use export controls, the EU AI Act and related legal frameworks already provide tools for addressing serious technological risks.
JUST connects these frameworks to decisions capable of materially reducing risk. Where necessary, we pursue transparency procedures, regulatory complaints or other proportionate legal action.
Use existing law to address catastrophic technological risk.
We partner with lawyers, academics, and legal teams who want to put existing law to work on technology safety.
One of the strongest instruments we are not fully using.
Legal intervention is underused for technology safety. Your support helps ensure the legal system is ready before the crisis.