The Future of Life Foundation is launching a fellowship on AI for Human Reasoning, which we think could be decisive in averting existential risk.

Fellowship on AI for Human Reasoning

Apply by June 9th | $25k–$50k stipend | 12 weeks, from July 14 - October 3

Join us in working out how to build a future which robustly empowers humans and improves decision-making.

FLF’s incubator fellowship on AI for human reasoning will help talented researchers and builders start working on AI tools for coordination and epistemics. Participants will scope out and work on pilot projects in this area, with discussion and guidance from experts working in related fields. FLF will provide fellows with a $25k–$50k stipend, the opportunity to work in a shared office in the SF Bay Area, and other support.

In some cases we would be excited to provide support beyond the end of the fellowship period, or help you in launching a new organization.

We’re looking for researchers and builders who want to work on tools to help people make sense of complex situations and coordinate to face challenges - especially the many hazards we face in navigating the future of AI.

Whether you expect gradual or sudden AI takeoff, and whether you're afraid of gradual or acute catastrophes, it really matters how well-informed, clear-headed, and free from coordination failures we are navigating into and through AI transitions. Just the occasion for human reasoning uplift!

Technology shapes the world we live in today. The technologies we develop now — especially AI-powered technologies — will shape the world of tomorrow.

We are concerned that humanity may fumble this ball. High stakes and rapid, dynamic, changes mean that leaders and other decision-makers may be disoriented, misunderstand the situation, or fail to coordinate on necessary actions — and steer the world into gradual or acute catastrophe.

The right technology could help. The rise of modern AI systems unlocks prospects for big improvements here; AI tools might help everyone track the state of play, make decisions they stand behind, and act in sync with others. This could defuse race dynamics, prevent narrowly-interested cliques from exploiting less coordinated groups, and avoid catastrophic errors of judgement.

We believe:

• The world is radically underinvested in these beneficial applications;
• Many people have not yet had the space to take these prospects seriously.

This situation calls for ambitious and creative efforts. Our fellowship — somewhere between a research fellowship and a startup incubator — is designed to address this. Fellows will explore and discuss potential beneficial applications, and then build roadmaps and prototypes. We will empower them by providing resources, advice, and connections.

At the end of the fellowship, we will invite people to present their work to potential funders (including us) and others working in this space. We hope that the fellowship gives space for seeds to germinate — and in some cases then grow into new organizations pursuing pivotal new capabilities. With sufficiently good tools, we might steer away from a world in which humans are increasingly irrelevant, towards one with deep institutional competence and individual empowerment.

See the info site for more, and please share and forward to any person, group, or community you think would be a good fit!