Executive summary: Doing a PhD is usually the best way to develop the skills needed to become an AI safety research lead, such as generating and evaluating research ideas, despite some drawbacks.
Key points:
Research leads who can develop new research agendas are a key bottleneck in AI safety, but this skill is difficult to acquire.
A PhD provides mentorship from experienced researchers, an environment to develop and communicate ideas, and autonomy to pursue ambitious agendas.
Independent research often lacks sufficient mentorship and feedback, while research contributor roles don’t provide enough opportunities to develop and pursue one’s own ideas.
Potential drawbacks of a PhD include work unrelated to AI safety, mental health challenges, and varying advisor quality. Careful selection of the program and advisor is important.
Making the most of a PhD involves initially prioritizing execution skills and knowledge, gradually developing research ideas, and increasing independence and ambition over time.
A PhD is not ideal or the best fit for everyone, but is usually better preparation to become a research lead compared to the alternatives.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: Doing a PhD is usually the best way to develop the skills needed to become an AI safety research lead, such as generating and evaluating research ideas, despite some drawbacks.
Key points:
Research leads who can develop new research agendas are a key bottleneck in AI safety, but this skill is difficult to acquire.
A PhD provides mentorship from experienced researchers, an environment to develop and communicate ideas, and autonomy to pursue ambitious agendas.
Independent research often lacks sufficient mentorship and feedback, while research contributor roles don’t provide enough opportunities to develop and pursue one’s own ideas.
Potential drawbacks of a PhD include work unrelated to AI safety, mental health challenges, and varying advisor quality. Careful selection of the program and advisor is important.
Making the most of a PhD involves initially prioritizing execution skills and knowledge, gradually developing research ideas, and increasing independence and ambition over time.
A PhD is not ideal or the best fit for everyone, but is usually better preparation to become a research lead compared to the alternatives.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.