I think that San Diego would be an excellent hub for EAs, especially people in the AI Alignment community
Climate—Great weather all year round, arguably even better than the bay area—most days sit in a very comfortable range of 65 to 75 degrees.
Culture—it’s important to be able to relax, and while the bay tends to have a very hardworking culture, this culture is probably not great for idea generation. My vibe from San Diego is that it’s a more relaxing place where people tend to value clearing their mind, walking on the beach, and generally living a mentally healthy lifestyle.
Expenses—Cost of living is on average 28% lower than SF and has pretty good public transportation (e.g. it has a light rail system, unlike Berkeley).
Housing and workspaces—San Diego has less strain on its real estate and (I’m guessing) has fewer regulations than many cities in the bay, making it much easier to purchase large houses and workspaces. There are also some WeWorks throughout the city.
Location—Ultimately, to coordinate a movement to a different city, a founder group has to start it off. I’d argue that the East Coast too far and dissimilar to SF for people to move, especially because they’d need to come back to SF frequently for events and meetups and that’s a long flight. San Diego, meanwhile, is less than a 2-hour flight away.
Additionally, moving to the East Coast weakens the connection to Asia. While Europe is certainly important, there are more people in China alone than in all of Europe, and having a strong connection between the AI Safety community and China seems very important.
Disadvantages
Unlike the East Coast or SF, there really isn’t much tech infrastructure currently built up in San Diego
There aren’t particularly good universities in San Diego, and recruitment from Stanford and UC Berkeley would be harder
Although AI Alignment people can move around, capabilities orgs won’t move with us, and in my view it’s very important to be able to work closely with them
I’m not convinced that the AI Safety community should move at all, but if it is to move, I think that a place like San Diego would be a natural place to consider.
The case for San Diego
I think that San Diego would be an excellent hub for EAs, especially people in the AI Alignment community
Climate—Great weather all year round, arguably even better than the bay area—most days sit in a very comfortable range of 65 to 75 degrees.
Culture—it’s important to be able to relax, and while the bay tends to have a very hardworking culture, this culture is probably not great for idea generation. My vibe from San Diego is that it’s a more relaxing place where people tend to value clearing their mind, walking on the beach, and generally living a mentally healthy lifestyle.
Expenses—Cost of living is on average 28% lower than SF and has pretty good public transportation (e.g. it has a light rail system, unlike Berkeley).
Housing and workspaces—San Diego has less strain on its real estate and (I’m guessing) has fewer regulations than many cities in the bay, making it much easier to purchase large houses and workspaces. There are also some WeWorks throughout the city.
Location—Ultimately, to coordinate a movement to a different city, a founder group has to start it off. I’d argue that the East Coast too far and dissimilar to SF for people to move, especially because they’d need to come back to SF frequently for events and meetups and that’s a long flight. San Diego, meanwhile, is less than a 2-hour flight away.
Additionally, moving to the East Coast weakens the connection to Asia. While Europe is certainly important, there are more people in China alone than in all of Europe, and having a strong connection between the AI Safety community and China seems very important.
Disadvantages
Unlike the East Coast or SF, there really isn’t much tech infrastructure currently built up in San Diego
There aren’t particularly good universities in San Diego, and recruitment from Stanford and UC Berkeley would be harder
Although AI Alignment people can move around, capabilities orgs won’t move with us, and in my view it’s very important to be able to work closely with them
I’m not convinced that the AI Safety community should move at all, but if it is to move, I think that a place like San Diego would be a natural place to consider.