A related question: Is LTFF more likely to fund a small AI safety research group than to fund individual independent AI Safety researchers?
So could we see a scenario where, if person A, B or C apply individually for an independent research grant, they might not meet your funding bar. But where, if similarly impressive people with a similarly good research agenda applied as a research group, they would be a more attractive funding opportunity for you?
(Giving my own professional opinion, not speaking for anybody else/employers) This seems unlikely to me, unless there’s a different substantive reason to believe that the research group is better for either research qua research or upskilling. Eg having access to better mentors, or demonstrated evidence that the group is better at keeping each other on track.
Plausibly I’m wrong here. Being an independent researcher kinda sucks in a variety of ways, and I can imagine having a group to work with to be good even if you can’t point to a specific reason. But I don’t currently think we have a bias towards groups and against independent researchers, and if anything I’d guess our revealed preferences are a bit in the other direction.
Thanks for the post!
A related question: Is LTFF more likely to fund a small AI safety research group than to fund individual independent AI Safety researchers?
So could we see a scenario where, if person A, B or C apply individually for an independent research grant, they might not meet your funding bar. But where, if similarly impressive people with a similarly good research agenda applied as a research group, they would be a more attractive funding opportunity for you?
(Giving my own professional opinion, not speaking for anybody else/employers) This seems unlikely to me, unless there’s a different substantive reason to believe that the research group is better for either research qua research or upskilling. Eg having access to better mentors, or demonstrated evidence that the group is better at keeping each other on track.
Plausibly I’m wrong here. Being an independent researcher kinda sucks in a variety of ways, and I can imagine having a group to work with to be good even if you can’t point to a specific reason. But I don’t currently think we have a bias towards groups and against independent researchers, and if anything I’d guess our revealed preferences are a bit in the other direction.