Hi Lexley, Good question. Kirsten’s suggestions are all great. To that, I’d add:
Try to work as a research assistant to someone who you think is doing interesting work. Quite often, more so than other roles, RA roles are quite often not advertised and set up on a more ad hoc basis. Perhaps the best route in is to read someone’s work and
Another thing you could do is to try to take a stab independently on some important-seeming question. You could e.g. pick a research question hinted at in a paper/piece (some have a section specifically with suggestions for further work), mentioned in a research agenda (e.g. Dafoe 2018), or in lists of research ideas (GovAI collated one here and Michael Aird, I think, sporadically updates this collection of lists of EA-relevant research questions).
You could also look into the various “ERIs”: SERI, CHERI, CERI, and so on.
As for GovAI, we have in the past engaged undergrads as research assistants and I could imagine us taking on particularly promising undergrads for the GovAI Fellowship. However, overall, I expect our comparative advantage will be working with folks who either have significant context on AI governance or who have relevant experience from some other domain. It may also lay in producing writing that can help people navigate the field.
One other option: My AI Governance and Strategy team at Rethink Priorities offers 3-5 month fellowships and permanent research assistant roles, either of which can be done at anywhere from 20h/w to 40h/w depending on the candidates’ preference. And we hire almost entirely based on performance in our work tests & interviews rather than on credentials/experience (though of course experience often helps people succeed in our work tests & interviews), and have sometimes hired people during or right after undergrad degrees.
We aren’t currently actively hiring, but people can express interest here.
(I just happened to read this post because I’m interested in GovAI, and then realised my team’s roles seem relevant to this thread—I don’t originally come here to do recruiting :)
Michael Aird, I think, sporadically updates this collection of lists of EA-relevant research questions)
Yeah, I update that whenever I learn of a new relevant collection of research questions.
That said, fwiw, I’d generally recommend that people interested in getting into research in some area:
Focus mostly on things like applying to jobs, expressing interest in working with some mentor, or applying to research training programs like the ERIs.
See independent research as only (a) a “cheap test of fit” that you spend a few days on on weekends and such, rather than a few months on, or (b) a backup option if applying to lots of roles isn’t yet working on, or a thing you do while waiting to hear back.
Some people/situations would be exceptions to that general advice, but generally I think having more structure, mentorship, feedback, etc. is better.
Thank you so much for taking the time reply! There’s so many availabe resources and most advice doesn’t seem to be aimed at people in my current career level, so these are really helpful in nudging me to the right direction :D
Hi Lexley, Good question. Kirsten’s suggestions are all great. To that, I’d add:
Try to work as a research assistant to someone who you think is doing interesting work. Quite often, more so than other roles, RA roles are quite often not advertised and set up on a more ad hoc basis. Perhaps the best route in is to read someone’s work and
Another thing you could do is to try to take a stab independently on some important-seeming question. You could e.g. pick a research question hinted at in a paper/piece (some have a section specifically with suggestions for further work), mentioned in a research agenda (e.g. Dafoe 2018), or in lists of research ideas (GovAI collated one here and Michael Aird, I think, sporadically updates this collection of lists of EA-relevant research questions).
My impression is that you can join the AGI Safety Fundamentals as an undergrad.
You could also look into the various “ERIs”: SERI, CHERI, CERI, and so on.
As for GovAI, we have in the past engaged undergrads as research assistants and I could imagine us taking on particularly promising undergrads for the GovAI Fellowship. However, overall, I expect our comparative advantage will be working with folks who either have significant context on AI governance or who have relevant experience from some other domain. It may also lay in producing writing that can help people navigate the field.
One other option: My AI Governance and Strategy team at Rethink Priorities offers 3-5 month fellowships and permanent research assistant roles, either of which can be done at anywhere from 20h/w to 40h/w depending on the candidates’ preference. And we hire almost entirely based on performance in our work tests & interviews rather than on credentials/experience (though of course experience often helps people succeed in our work tests & interviews), and have sometimes hired people during or right after undergrad degrees.
We aren’t currently actively hiring, but people can express interest here.
(I just happened to read this post because I’m interested in GovAI, and then realised my team’s roles seem relevant to this thread—I don’t originally come here to do recruiting :)
Also, I’m really excited about GovAI’s work and about them getting great hires, and I’d suggest people typically apply to many orgs/roles and see what happens rather than trying to just choose one or a few to apply to.)
Yeah, I update that whenever I learn of a new relevant collection of research questions.
That said, fwiw, I’d generally recommend that people interested in getting into research in some area:
Focus mostly on things like applying to jobs, expressing interest in working with some mentor, or applying to research training programs like the ERIs.
See independent research as only (a) a “cheap test of fit” that you spend a few days on on weekends and such, rather than a few months on, or (b) a backup option if applying to lots of roles isn’t yet working on, or a thing you do while waiting to hear back.
Some people/situations would be exceptions to that general advice, but generally I think having more structure, mentorship, feedback, etc. is better.
Thank you so much for taking the time reply! There’s so many availabe resources and most advice doesn’t seem to be aimed at people in my current career level, so these are really helpful in nudging me to the right direction :D