I agree especially with the first of these (third is outside my scope of expertise). There’s a lot of work that feels chronically underserved and unsupported in ‘implementation-focused policy advocacy and communication’.
E.g. standards are correctly mentioned. Participation in standards development processes is an unsexy, frequently tedious and time-consuming processes. The big companies have people whose day jobs is basically sitting in standards bodies like ISO making sure the eventual standards reflect company priorities. AI safety/governance has a few people fitting it in alongside a million other priorities.
e.g. the EU AI office is still struggling to staff the AI Office, one of the most important safety implementation offices out there.
e.g. I serve on an OECD AI working group, an international working group with WIC, have served on GPAI, PAI, and regularly advise UN and national governments. You can make a huge difference on these things especially if you have the time to develop proposals/recommendations and follow up between meetings. But I see the same faces from academia & cvil society at all of these—all of us exhausted, trying to fit in as much as we can, alongside research, management, fundraising, teaching+student mentorship + essays (for the academics).
Some of this is that it takes time as an independent to reach the level of seniority/recognition to be invited to these working groups. But my impression from being on funding review panels that many of the people who are well-placed to do so still have an uphill battle to get funding for themselves or the support they need.
It helps if you’ve had something flashy and obviously impactful (e.g. AI-2027) but there’s a ton of behind-the-scenes work (that I think is much harder for funders to assess, and sometimes harder for philanthropists to get excited about) that an ecosystem with a chance of actually steering this properly and acting as the necessary counterweight to commercial pressures needs. Time and regular participation at national government level (a bunch of them!) plus US, EU, UN, OECD, G7/G20/G77, Africa, Belt&Road/ANSO, GPAI, ITU, ISO, things like Singapore SCAI & much more. Great opportunities for funders (including small funders).
I agree especially with the first of these (third is outside my scope of expertise). There’s a lot of work that feels chronically underserved and unsupported in ‘implementation-focused policy advocacy and communication’.
E.g. standards are correctly mentioned. Participation in standards development processes is an unsexy, frequently tedious and time-consuming processes. The big companies have people whose day jobs is basically sitting in standards bodies like ISO making sure the eventual standards reflect company priorities. AI safety/governance has a few people fitting it in alongside a million other priorities.
e.g. the EU AI office is still struggling to staff the AI Office, one of the most important safety implementation offices out there. e.g. I serve on an OECD AI working group, an international working group with WIC, have served on GPAI, PAI, and regularly advise UN and national governments. You can make a huge difference on these things especially if you have the time to develop proposals/recommendations and follow up between meetings. But I see the same faces from academia & cvil society at all of these—all of us exhausted, trying to fit in as much as we can, alongside research, management, fundraising, teaching+student mentorship + essays (for the academics).
Some of this is that it takes time as an independent to reach the level of seniority/recognition to be invited to these working groups. But my impression from being on funding review panels that many of the people who are well-placed to do so still have an uphill battle to get funding for themselves or the support they need. It helps if you’ve had something flashy and obviously impactful (e.g. AI-2027) but there’s a ton of behind-the-scenes work (that I think is much harder for funders to assess, and sometimes harder for philanthropists to get excited about) that an ecosystem with a chance of actually steering this properly and acting as the necessary counterweight to commercial pressures needs. Time and regular participation at national government level (a bunch of them!) plus US, EU, UN, OECD, G7/G20/G77, Africa, Belt&Road/ANSO, GPAI, ITU, ISO, things like Singapore SCAI & much more. Great opportunities for funders (including small funders).