Advice to junior AI governance researchers

By Akash @ 2024-07-08T19:19 (+38)

This is a crosspost, probably from LessWrong. Try viewing it there.

null
Peter Wildeford @ 2024-07-08T23:13 (+20)

I agree with all this advice. I also want to emphasize that I think researchers ought to spend more time talking to people relevant to their work.

Once you’ve identified your target audience, spend a bunch of time talking to them at the beginning, middle, and end of the project. At the beginning learn and take into account their constraints, at the middle refine your ideas, and at the end actually try to get your research into action.

I think it’s not crazy to spend half of your time on the research project talking.

Johan de Kock @ 2024-07-10T14:06 (+3)

Thank you for writing this up, Akash! I am currently exploring my aptitude as an AI governance researcher and consider the advice provided here to be valuable. Especially the point on bouncing off ideas with people early on, but also throughout the research process is something I have started to appreciate a lot more.

For anyone who is in a similar position, I can also highly recommend to check out this and this post.

For any other (junior or senior) researchers interested in expanding their pool of people to reach out to for feedback on their research projects, or simply to connect, feel free to reach out on LinkedIn or schedule a call via Calendly! I look forward to chatting.

SummaryBot @ 2024-07-09T15:12 (+2)

Executive summary: Junior AI governance researchers should prioritize projects with clear target audiences, be specific about end products, and leverage their networks for feedback and connections.

Key points:

  1. Choose research projects with identifiable target audiences and ways to reach them
  2. Define concrete end products rather than broad topics to ensure completion
  3. Engage with experts and peers early for feedback and to uncover crucial considerations
  4. Consider producing shorter, more targeted outputs like policy memos or tools instead of long papers
  5. Plan for how to actively disseminate research to relevant stakeholders
  6. Balance following structured plans with pursuing energizing ideas and building long-term expertise

 

 

This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.