Open Call for Advisees and Collaborators, May 2019

by | 29 May 2019

GCRI is currently welcoming inquiries from people who are interested in seeking our advice and/or collaborating with us on projects.

At this time we are holding a preliminary, informal, open call for people at all career points interested in working on any aspect of global catastrophic risk. We cannot engage with everyone, but will try to talk to as many interested people as we can.

Of particular interest:

  • Scholars and professionals at intermediate and senior career points (Ph.D. graduates and up, or equivalent professional experience) whose work overlaps with GCRI’s primary active projects on social and policy dimensions of AI, especially as documented here, or with our primary agenda of cross-risk evaluation and prioritization as documented here.
  • Scholars and professionals at intermediate and senior career points, especially people with backgrounds in social and policy fields or in risk and decision analysis, who are seeking to get more involved in global catastrophic risk and who would like to talk with us about how their existing expertise could apply.
  • Students and junior professionals who are interested in contributing to GCRI’s work, especially those who anticipate a career focused on similar global catastrophic risk topics, and especially on social and policy dimensions of AI as documented here or on cross-risk evaluation and prioritization as documented here.
  • Students and junior professionals who are interested in careers in global catastrophic risk, especially people interested in the interface between social/policy dimensions and science/technology dimensions, who could use advice on how to orient their studies and professional activities.

We welcome inquiries from people anywhere in the world. For logistical reasons, we have some preference for people based in the US or elsewhere in the Americas. People from underrepresented demographic groups are especially encouraged to reach out.

We also welcome inquiries from other organizations searching for global catastrophic risk talent to see if people in GCRI’s network would be a good fit for positions they have to offer.

Please note that GCRI is not seeking to hire new employees or add new affiliates at this time. We regret that our finances do not permit us to offer funding to collaborators right now, though we are actively fundraising and may be able to offer funding to select collaborators in the near future. Potential funders should visit our donate page or reach out to us directly.

Individuals interested in speaking with us or collaborating with us should email Mr. Robert de Neufville, robert [at] gcrinstitute.org, with a short description of their background and interests, as well as what they hope to get out of their interaction with GCRI. Please also include a resume/CV and/or link to your professional website, and note the city or area you are based in.

 

Author

Recent Publications

Climate Change, Uncertainty, and Global Catastrophic Risk

Climate Change, Uncertainty, and Global Catastrophic Risk

Is climate change a global catastrophic risk? This paper, published in the journal Futures, addresses the question by examining the definition of global catastrophic risk and by comparing climate change to another severe global risk, nuclear winter. The paper concludes that yes, climate change is a global catastrophic risk, and potentially a significant one.

Assessing the Risk of Takeover Catastrophe from Large Language Models

Assessing the Risk of Takeover Catastrophe from Large Language Models

For over 50 years, experts have worried about the risk of AI taking over the world and killing everyone. The concern had always been about hypothetical future AI systems—until recent LLMs emerged. This paper, published in the journal Risk Analysis, assesses how close LLMs are to having the capabilities needed to cause takeover catastrophe.

On the Intrinsic Value of Diversity

On the Intrinsic Value of Diversity

Diversity is a major ethics concept, but it is remarkably understudied. This paper, published in the journal Inquiry, presents a foundational study of the ethics of diversity. It adapts ideas about biodiversity and sociodiversity to the overall category of diversity. It also presents three new thought experiments, with implications for AI ethics.

Climate Change, Uncertainty, and Global Catastrophic Risk

Climate Change, Uncertainty, and Global Catastrophic Risk

Is climate change a global catastrophic risk? This paper, published in the journal Futures, addresses the question by examining the definition of global catastrophic risk and by comparing climate change to another severe global risk, nuclear winter. The paper concludes that yes, climate change is a global catastrophic risk, and potentially a significant one.

Assessing the Risk of Takeover Catastrophe from Large Language Models

Assessing the Risk of Takeover Catastrophe from Large Language Models

For over 50 years, experts have worried about the risk of AI taking over the world and killing everyone. The concern had always been about hypothetical future AI systems—until recent LLMs emerged. This paper, published in the journal Risk Analysis, assesses how close LLMs are to having the capabilities needed to cause takeover catastrophe.

On the Intrinsic Value of Diversity

On the Intrinsic Value of Diversity

Diversity is a major ethics concept, but it is remarkably understudied. This paper, published in the journal Inquiry, presents a foundational study of the ethics of diversity. It adapts ideas about biodiversity and sociodiversity to the overall category of diversity. It also presents three new thought experiments, with implications for AI ethics.