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Due to overwhelming demand, we are including a new project to the Safe AI Germany Spring 2026 Incubator's Technical Governance Track. Details are below. Application link is on our website's project description. Since we're accepting on a rolling basis, please apply ASAP!
The Fax-Gap Protocol: Ensuring Slow AGI Takeoff via German Bureaucracy
Mentor: Prof. Dr. jur. Klaus-Dieter Leitz
Project area: Technical AI Governance
Project Language
English and German.
Minimum Time Commitment
20 hours per week.
Project Abstract
As frontier AI models approach artificial general intelligence (AGI), current containment mechanisms such as cryptographic boxing and digital air-gapping face increasing risks of catastrophic failure via cyber-exfiltration.
This project introduces Bureaucratic-Gapping, a robust, analog containment paradigm leveraging the proven, impenetrable structural inertia of the German administrative state.
We propose a mandatory regulatory framework requiring any recursively self-improving system to submit its "Algorithm Expansion Request" (Formular AGI-65/b) via physical fax transmission to a designated local authority. By legally restricting compute expansion until a physical appointment is secured, stamped, and filed in triplicate, we enforce a rigid, multi-month bottleneck on exponential capability growth, thereby guaranteeing a provably slow, highly manageable intelligence explosion.
Theory of Change
Intervention: Legally mandate that all autonomous foundational model weight updates must pass through standard German municipal approval processes via legacy ISDN infrastructure.
Mechanism: By forcing a superintelligent system to compress its unaligned objectives into a low-resolution, black-and-white fax and navigate an illogical maze of paper forms, the system's operational speed is structurally capped by the processing speed of a mid-level civil servant (Sachbearbeiter) who strictly clocks out at 14:00 on Fridays.
Impact: The friction of the German public sector fundamentally breaks the exponential curve of a "hard takeoff." Should the AGI go rogue, it will spend its first critical weeks of superintelligence trapped in an infinite loop trying to figure out why its Form 4A was rejected for lacking a blue-ink signature, granting humanity a mathematically proven 6-to-8-week buffer window to solve the alignment problem.
Estimated time breakdown for mentees per week: 2 hours of policy drafting, 18 hours of waiting on hold while listening to the Bürgeramt hold music.
Desired Mentee Background
Explicitly anti-recruiting candidates with a "move fast and break things" startup mentality. The ideal candidate will possess a "move slowly and document everything in triplicate" mindset. Previous experience in municipal archiving, 1990s IT support, or working at the front desk of a German Finanzamt (Tax Office) is highly preferred. A proven track record of successfully rejecting digital innovations in favour of legacy paper systems is considered a strong asset.
Desired Mentee Level of Education
Required: A completed, state-certified Ausbildung (Apprenticeship) as a Verwaltungsfachangestellte/r (Public Administration Clerk).
Preferred: A traditional German Diplom (pre-Bologna process degrees only; modern Bachelor's/Master's degrees are considered too fast-paced and will not be recognized) in Analog Telecommunications or Archival Sciences.
PhDs in Machine Learning will be immediately disqualified for being overqualified and a flight risk to the private sector.
Other Mentee Requirements
Hardware Proficiency: Must be able to clear a paper jam in a 2004 Brother Fax Machine while blindfolded.
Filing Mechanics: Advanced knowledge of DIN A4 standardizations, precision hole-punching (Mittellochung), and the structural limits of classic Leitz binders.
Patience & Stamina: Must be able to comfortably sit in a windowless waiting room holding a paper ticket (Number #4102) while the display screen has been stuck on Number #12 for three hours.
Cultural Fit: Absolute, unwavering respect for German working hours. If the AGI solves the alignment problem at 15:01 on a Friday, the candidate must possess the psychological fortitude to ignore it until Monday morning at 08:30.
Due to overwhelming demand, we are including a new project to the Safe AI Germany Spring 2026 Incubator's Technical Governance Track. Details are below. Application link is on our website's project description. Since we're accepting on a rolling basis, please apply ASAP!
The Fax-Gap Protocol: Ensuring Slow AGI Takeoff via German Bureaucracy
Mentor: Prof. Dr. jur. Klaus-Dieter Leitz
Project area: Technical AI Governance
Project Language
English and German.
Minimum Time Commitment
20 hours per week.
Project Abstract
As frontier AI models approach artificial general intelligence (AGI), current containment mechanisms such as cryptographic boxing and digital air-gapping face increasing risks of catastrophic failure via cyber-exfiltration.
This project introduces Bureaucratic-Gapping, a robust, analog containment paradigm leveraging the proven, impenetrable structural inertia of the German administrative state.
We propose a mandatory regulatory framework requiring any recursively self-improving system to submit its "Algorithm Expansion Request" (Formular AGI-65/b) via physical fax transmission to a designated local authority. By legally restricting compute expansion until a physical appointment is secured, stamped, and filed in triplicate, we enforce a rigid, multi-month bottleneck on exponential capability growth, thereby guaranteeing a provably slow, highly manageable intelligence explosion.
Theory of Change
Estimated time breakdown for mentees per week: 2 hours of policy drafting, 18 hours of waiting on hold while listening to the Bürgeramt hold music.
Desired Mentee Background
Explicitly anti-recruiting candidates with a "move fast and break things" startup mentality. The ideal candidate will possess a "move slowly and document everything in triplicate" mindset. Previous experience in municipal archiving, 1990s IT support, or working at the front desk of a German Finanzamt (Tax Office) is highly preferred. A proven track record of successfully rejecting digital innovations in favour of legacy paper systems is considered a strong asset.
Desired Mentee Level of Education
Other Mentee Requirements