Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) safety research is a critical but fragmented field, with senior researchers often working in isolated silos. While junior-focused events and general conferences exist, there's a noticeable gap in dedicated spaces for established experts to engage in deep, sustained collaboration. A specialized retreat could bridge this gap by fostering meaningful exchanges, aligning research directions, and accelerating progress in AGI safety.

The Core Idea: A Senior-Focused Collaboration Retreat

One way to address this gap could be by organizing an in-person retreat exclusively for senior AGI safety researchers, funders, and decision-makers. The event would prioritize active collaboration over passive presentations, featuring:

• Workshop-driven format: Structured discussions and problem-solving sessions instead of traditional lectures.
• Selective participation: Around 60-80 attendees, with 80% being senior researchers leading teams or publishing influential work.
• Strategic timing: Held during workdays to encourage employer sponsorship and maximize attendance.

The retreat could help participants exchange ideas, identify synergies between different alignment approaches, and form long-term partnerships. Funders and decision-makers might benefit from clearer insights into research bottlenecks and opportunities.

Execution and Practical Considerations

To test the concept, a smaller pilot event with 20-30 participants could serve as a minimal viable product. Key logistical considerations might include:

• Participant selection: Invitations could be based on nominations from trusted community members to ensure diversity across organizations and subfields.
• Venue and scheduling: A secluded location with minimal distractions, scheduled to avoid conflicts with major conferences.
• Follow-up mechanisms: Anonymized insights or working groups could help sustain momentum post-retreat.

Funding could come from sponsorships by alignment-focused organizations or sliding-scale fees, ensuring accessibility for researchers from less-resourced institutions.

Differentiation from Existing Events

Unlike mentorship programs like SERI MATS or broad conferences like EAGx, this retreat would specifically target senior researchers for peer-level collaboration. While smaller alignment workshops exist, they tend to be ad hoc and topic-specific. A structured, recurring retreat could provide a more systematic way to foster high-level coordination in the field.

By creating a dedicated space for senior researchers to collaborate, this idea could help reduce duplication of effort, bridge methodological divides, and ultimately accelerate progress in AGI safety research.