After attending EAG in San Francisco last month, I realized that the most important thing for me to do right now is upskill in the fields of AI, biorisk, and policy. I recently graduated from Tulane with a Bachelor’s in Engineering and Philosophy, so I have a general background in technology and the humanities. However, I am interested in a career in DC as a scientific advisor to policy makers, and to do that I need a better technical understanding of these fields.
To that end, I had the idea to make a podcast about my journey learning about these topics. I plan to learn using a variety of self-teaching materials: books, video series, podcasts, online classes, etc. Once I finish something, I then write and record a thirty-ish minute summary of what I learned. I’m thinking of calling it “X-Risk Upskill.”
Even if this project doesn’t become popular, it will have three main advantages for me: it will motivate me to actually do the work of upskilling; it will help me better absorb the material, since the best way to learn is to teach; and it will give me a chance to practice my science communication skills. If the podcast does get popular, it could bolster my career by getting my name out there and help other aspiring EAs upskill as well.
Does anyone have any advice before I start this project? In particular, are there any resources you recommend for teaching myself about machine learning, genomics, or politics? Should I find someone to edit my scripts before I record them? And are there any hidden risks I’m not considering that might make this idea worse than it seems?
New Podcast: X-Risk Upskill
After attending EAG in San Francisco last month, I realized that the most important thing for me to do right now is upskill in the fields of AI, biorisk, and policy. I recently graduated from Tulane with a Bachelor’s in Engineering and Philosophy, so I have a general background in technology and the humanities. However, I am interested in a career in DC as a scientific advisor to policy makers, and to do that I need a better technical understanding of these fields.
To that end, I had the idea to make a podcast about my journey learning about these topics. I plan to learn using a variety of self-teaching materials: books, video series, podcasts, online classes, etc. Once I finish something, I then write and record a thirty-ish minute summary of what I learned. I’m thinking of calling it “X-Risk Upskill.”
Even if this project doesn’t become popular, it will have three main advantages for me: it will motivate me to actually do the work of upskilling; it will help me better absorb the material, since the best way to learn is to teach; and it will give me a chance to practice my science communication skills. If the podcast does get popular, it could bolster my career by getting my name out there and help other aspiring EAs upskill as well.
Does anyone have any advice before I start this project? In particular, are there any resources you recommend for teaching myself about machine learning, genomics, or politics? Should I find someone to edit my scripts before I record them? And are there any hidden risks I’m not considering that might make this idea worse than it seems?