I submitted an application about using causality as a means for improved value learning and interpretability of NN: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5BkEoJFEqQEWy9GcL/an-open-philanthropy-grant-proposal-causal-representation
My main reason for putting forward this proposal is that I believe the models of the world humans operate, are somewhat similar to causal models, with some high-level variables that AI systems might be able to learn. So using causal models might be useful for AI Safety.
I think there are also some external reasons why it makes sense as a proposal:
Most negative feedback I have received is because the proposal is still a bit too high level, and most people believe this is something worth trying out (even if I am not the right person).
I got approval from LTFF, and got to the second round of both FLI and OpenPhil (still undecided in both cases, so no rejections).
I think the risk of me not being the right person to carry out research on this topic is greater than the risk of this not being a useful research agenda. On the other hand, so far I have been able to do research well even when working independently, so perhaps the change of topic will turn out ok.
Thanks Chris! Not much: duration and amount of funding. But the projects I applied with were similar, so in a sense I was arguing that independent evaluations of a proposal might provide more signal of the perceived usefulness of this project.
What exactly would the postdoc be about? Are you and others reasonably confident your research agenda would contribute to the field?
I submitted an application about using causality as a means for improved value learning and interpretability of NN: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5BkEoJFEqQEWy9GcL/an-open-philanthropy-grant-proposal-causal-representation My main reason for putting forward this proposal is that I believe the models of the world humans operate, are somewhat similar to causal models, with some high-level variables that AI systems might be able to learn. So using causal models might be useful for AI Safety.
I think there are also some external reasons why it makes sense as a proposal:
It is connected to the work of https://causalincentives.com/
Most negative feedback I have received is because the proposal is still a bit too high level, and most people believe this is something worth trying out (even if I am not the right person).
I got approval from LTFF, and got to the second round of both FLI and OpenPhil (still undecided in both cases, so no rejections).
I think the risk of me not being the right person to carry out research on this topic is greater than the risk of this not being a useful research agenda. On the other hand, so far I have been able to do research well even when working independently, so perhaps the change of topic will turn out ok.
What’s the difference between being funded by LTFF vs. one of the other two?
Thanks Chris! Not much: duration and amount of funding. But the projects I applied with were similar, so in a sense I was arguing that independent evaluations of a proposal might provide more signal of the perceived usefulness of this project.