The “Desperate” AI Safety Talent Bottleneck is deeply misleading. Please.stop.
I worked at Google.
Google does not tell applicants that there is a talent bottleneck and they are desperately hiring. They say “we’re cool, join us!”
I didn’t get into Harvard.
Harvard does not tell applicants that they are desperately seeking students. I am not misled.
I’ve gotten rejected from countless AI Safety organizations.
AI Safety tells applicants—we are in desperate need of talent (operators/generalists)! Please join us!
I’ve coached 70+ aspiring career pivoters on navigating the ecosystem. A common theme is the dejection & disappointment from all this rejection. Because of this false marketing, I am the one picking up the pieces to calibrate professionals on how difficult, competitive, and picky organizations are, how to build context, and how to endure the marathon, which is like any other job hunt.
Please.stop.
Some alternatives:
We are an exciting, growing organization and you should apply for our roles!
Many people are excited to work for us—here are qualities of candidates we’re especially excited about.
EA roles are competitive, and we would still love to see your application.
I am reminded of the trend where people would post a university’s “everyone belongs here” inclusion statement next to the rejection letter they got from that university.
More seriously: I often talk to people who overestimate the extent to which AI safety “experts” have things under control, and also those with imposter syndrome. I worry that the alternatives you list don’t really work well for this audience, and I’m curious if you have other suggestions (or disagree with this claim)?
I think informing rejected candidates of how many people applied is another quick-win. The only time I’ve got figures on applicants is when I’ve got in to a fellowship or role and never when I’ve been rejected. So far I’ve seen: * Spar Projects with 1⁄50 applicants and 6⁄75 applicants accepted. (I’ve never got in to SPAR but have worked in an office with a SPAR mentor). * Two fellowships where 20⁄140 and 15⁄170 were accepted respectively. These were all unpaid positions (bar the last one which covered living expenses), I can only imagine applying for paid roles would be even more competitive.
I think having rejected candidates know how competitive these roles/courses/fellowships are would likely reduce the drop-out from the AIS talent pool so would be a win-win for both the applicants and the orgs.
Mox Movie Nights watched Slumdog Millionaire today and it reminded me of the why behind the work. We’re not here to EV-max, to gain impact points, to count utils. We’re here because the world is unfair, suffering is prolific, and need to find a way through it.
What a coincidence! I was just getting annoyed by Financial Times articles that always make up reasons after things happen. It made me realize that most news is exactly what Chomsky calls Manufacturing Consent.
I chatted with an AI about the idea that DNA/RNA arriving on Earth via asteroids is basically a biological Von Neumann machine. So the alien question is actually a strict Existential Risk (X-risk) issue, not a non-pragmatic one.
The “Desperate” AI Safety Talent Bottleneck is deeply misleading. Please.stop.
I worked at Google.
Google does not tell applicants that there is a talent bottleneck and they are desperately hiring. They say “we’re cool, join us!”
I didn’t get into Harvard.
Harvard does not tell applicants that they are desperately seeking students. I am not misled.
I’ve gotten rejected from countless AI Safety organizations.
AI Safety tells applicants—we are in desperate need of talent (operators/generalists)! Please join us!
I’ve coached 70+ aspiring career pivoters on navigating the ecosystem. A common theme is the dejection & disappointment from all this rejection. Because of this false marketing, I am the one picking up the pieces to calibrate professionals on how difficult, competitive, and picky organizations are, how to build context, and how to endure the marathon, which is like any other job hunt.
Please.stop.
Some alternatives:
We are an exciting, growing organization and you should apply for our roles!
Many people are excited to work for us—here are qualities of candidates we’re especially excited about.
EA roles are competitive, and we would still love to see your application.
Relevant posts:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/B6d8Wzk4gNzHsXvdi/ai-safety-is-extremely-bottlenecked-on-grantmakers?commentId=n2Rd7RR4y9EnKP42F
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/b82SLXwEHRCs3TFJA/why-experienced-professionals-fail-to-land-high-impact-roles
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/jmbP9rwXncfa32seH/after-one-year-of-applying-for-ea-jobs-it-is-really-really
I am reminded of the trend where people would post a university’s “everyone belongs here” inclusion statement next to the rejection letter they got from that university.
More seriously: I often talk to people who overestimate the extent to which AI safety “experts” have things under control, and also those with imposter syndrome. I worry that the alternatives you list don’t really work well for this audience, and I’m curious if you have other suggestions (or disagree with this claim)?
I think informing rejected candidates of how many people applied is another quick-win. The only time I’ve got figures on applicants is when I’ve got in to a fellowship or role and never when I’ve been rejected.
So far I’ve seen:
* Spar Projects with 1⁄50 applicants and 6⁄75 applicants accepted. (I’ve never got in to SPAR but have worked in an office with a SPAR mentor).
* Two fellowships where 20⁄140 and 15⁄170 were accepted respectively.
These were all unpaid positions (bar the last one which covered living expenses), I can only imagine applying for paid roles would be even more competitive.
I think having rejected candidates know how competitive these roles/courses/fellowships are would likely reduce the drop-out from the AIS talent pool so would be a win-win for both the applicants and the orgs.
Thanks for sharing!
I tend to agree a lot with this, so I am very curious why some people disagree.
Mox Movie Nights watched Slumdog Millionaire today and it reminded me of the why behind the work. We’re not here to EV-max, to gain impact points, to count utils. We’re here because the world is unfair, suffering is prolific, and need to find a way through it.
Have @Matt Beard and @Mjreard considered having a child and naming it Matt BrEArdon?
Matt Reardon might actually be the person who counterfactually changed my life more than anyone. So he gets naming rights
So you’re saying he reard you?
Junior EAs getting advice that helps them grow: “I’m getting reard on”
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What a coincidence! I was just getting annoyed by Financial Times articles that always make up reasons after things happen. It made me realize that most news is exactly what Chomsky calls Manufacturing Consent.
I chatted with an AI about the idea that DNA/RNA arriving on Earth via asteroids is basically a biological Von Neumann machine. So the alien question is actually a strict Existential Risk (X-risk) issue, not a non-pragmatic one.
Also, my first language is Mandarin.