Hi Lexley, I’m sure Markus will come back with an answer, but I thought I’d suggest some other ways an undergraduate or new grad could build their knowledge and credibility:
a) Write a relevant essay or do a project for one of your classes. For example, if you’re taking a political science or economics class, you could write an essay about “Does [major theory we’ve studied] explain what we’re seeing in the current governance of AI?” You could share your essay for feedback on the Facebook group “Effective Altruism Editing and Review” and potentially even post it here, or post a summary.
b) Take an internship or job somewhere that you can learn about government or governance. For example, working in local or national government; working for a regulator; working for a corporate governance body like “fair trade” or “organic”; working for a tech company or lobbyist, especially if you can get a job taking notes for their boards or something like that. Pay attention to who’s making decisions, and who the decision-makers pay attention to—who has the power in different situations?
c) Read papers and articles in the area you’re interested in, and leave polite comments or questions. If a professor at your university has written a paper you think might be relevant, go to their office hours or ask to meet them and ask them some questions about how their work could be applied to AI governance. Consider starting a blog writing summaries or reviews of relevant papers and/or introducing some of your own thoughts. Consider going on Twitter, following people you admire, and replying to them occasionally.
I hope these ideas are useful and please let me know if you try them! I’m @Kirsten3531 on Twitter if you decide to go the Twitter route :)
Hi Kirsten, thank you so much for this write-up!! :D This is really the sort of guidance I’ve been searching for, since most advice seems to be primarily aimed at those in their mid-career or those who have already held senior positions. Will follow you on Twitter if that’s okay! (Also just realized we interacted earlier today, I’m @doseofzero :> )
Hi Lexley, I’m sure Markus will come back with an answer, but I thought I’d suggest some other ways an undergraduate or new grad could build their knowledge and credibility:
a) Write a relevant essay or do a project for one of your classes. For example, if you’re taking a political science or economics class, you could write an essay about “Does [major theory we’ve studied] explain what we’re seeing in the current governance of AI?” You could share your essay for feedback on the Facebook group “Effective Altruism Editing and Review” and potentially even post it here, or post a summary.
b) Take an internship or job somewhere that you can learn about government or governance. For example, working in local or national government; working for a regulator; working for a corporate governance body like “fair trade” or “organic”; working for a tech company or lobbyist, especially if you can get a job taking notes for their boards or something like that. Pay attention to who’s making decisions, and who the decision-makers pay attention to—who has the power in different situations?
c) Read papers and articles in the area you’re interested in, and leave polite comments or questions. If a professor at your university has written a paper you think might be relevant, go to their office hours or ask to meet them and ask them some questions about how their work could be applied to AI governance. Consider starting a blog writing summaries or reviews of relevant papers and/or introducing some of your own thoughts. Consider going on Twitter, following people you admire, and replying to them occasionally.
I hope these ideas are useful and please let me know if you try them! I’m @Kirsten3531 on Twitter if you decide to go the Twitter route :)
Hi Kirsten, thank you so much for this write-up!! :D This is really the sort of guidance I’ve been searching for, since most advice seems to be primarily aimed at those in their mid-career or those who have already held senior positions. Will follow you on Twitter if that’s okay! (Also just realized we interacted earlier today, I’m @doseofzero :> )