AI alignment research focuses on ensuring that advanced artificial intelligence systems behave as intended and avoid catastrophic outcomes. Currently, this critical field faces challenges like limited funding, difficulty attracting top talent, and fragmentation across institutions, which slows progress on what may be one of humanity's most pressing challenges.
One approach to accelerate progress could involve creating a specialized grant program targeting researchers who currently fall through the cracks of existing funding systems. This might focus on:
Such a program could offer flexible funding ranging from small stipends for proof-of-concept work to multi-year support for established teams, with particular attention to those developing novel approaches that don't fit traditional funding models.
Beyond direct funding, this approach might include components designed to strengthen the entire field:
Key to this would be maintaining a lightweight application process while ensuring funded work remains closely tied to alignment goals through technical review and regular check-ins.
While several existing programs fund AI safety research, this approach could fill gaps by:
1. Supporting researchers who don't fit traditional academic or corporate pathways
2. Offering funding amounts between small one-off grants and large institutional fellowships
3. Providing more structured community-building than isolated grants typically allow
4. Maintaining faster decision cycles than conventional academic funding while keeping rigorous technical review
By specifically targeting underfunded segments of the alignment research community and creating connections between them, this approach could potentially accelerate progress while avoiding duplication with existing efforts.
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