UPDATE: The call for advisees and collaborators is now closed. Thank you to everyone who applied. However, anyone interested in seeking our advice and/or collaborating with us is still welcome to contact us as per the instructions below and we will include them in our next Advising and Collaboration Program.
GCRI is currently welcoming inquiries from people who are interested in seeking our advice and/or collaborating with us as part of our fifth annual Advising and Collaboration Program. Inquiries may cover any aspect of global catastrophic risk. We welcome inquiries from people with any academic or professional background, from any place in the world, and at any career point, including students.
Participation does not necessarily entail any significant time commitment. It can consist of anything from a short email exchange to more extensive project work. This year, we intend to emphasize group conversations to facilitate dialog and networking among people with synergistic backgrounds and interests.
This year, we are especially interested in the following themes:
Diversity and inclusion: Improving the success of people from underrepresented demographic groups within the field of global catastrophic risk. Demographics can include race, gender, geographic location, and more. We seek to support people from underrepresented groups as they advance their careers in the field. We additionally seek to connect with anyone who would like to learn more about how to help and potentially partner with us in advancing diversity and inclusion with the field of global catastrophic risk.
- Related: the GCRI Statement on Racism (June 2020), the GCRI Statement on Race and Intelligence (January 2023), and the GCRI Statement on the Demographic Diversity of the GCRI Team, January 2023.
AI governance: Due to recent advances in AI technology and surrounding conversations, opportunities for AI governance have expanded. AI governance includes public policy, corporate governance, and more. However, there remains a significant learning curve to contributing. We seek to support people who wish to orient their careers toward AI governance, as well as people already in AI governance who wish to improve their capabilities. We welcome people with backgrounds in governance as well as people with backgrounds in computer science.
- Related: GCRI’s work on artificial intelligence, such as Corporate governance of artificial intelligence in the public interest.
AI politics: Ongoing conversations about AI include heated debate about the extent to which AI poses a catastrophic risk and the appropriateness of discussing catastrophic AI risk in the first place. There exists some intense opposition to the project of understanding and reducing catastrophic AI risk. We seek to support people who need to navigate this political situation in order to advance AI risk reduction and related objectives.
- Related: GCRI’s work on artificial intelligence, such as Reconciliation between factions focused on near-term and long-term artificial intelligence.
Public scholarship: There is an acute need for more and better public conversation about global catastrophic risks, especially to advance solutions for reducing the risk. We seek to grow a community of people active in producing high-quality public scholarship on global catastrophic risk. We welcome people with backgrounds in global catastrophic risk as well as people with backgrounds in public media, including both traditional media and new/digital media and including text, audio, and video formats.
- Related: GCRI’s commentary publications and our 2022 Annual Report.
Students and early-career professionals: Global catastrophic risk is a challenging and multifaceted topic. People who are just starting out are often unsure about how they might fit in or how they can best pursue a career in the field. They can also benefit from guidance from more senior people in the field as well as networking opportunities. We welcome people with any background and interests who wish to learn more and advance their studies and careers.
Individuals interested in participating should email Dr. Seth Baum, seth [at] gcrinstitute.org. Please include a short description of your background and interests, what you hope to get out of your interaction with GCRI, which of the above theme(s) (if any) you are interested in, a resume/CV or a link to your professional website (or similar such as LinkedIn), where you are based, and how you heard about the program. There is no deadline for submission, and we anticipate keeping the program open for several months unless otherwise specified.
We look forward to hearing from you.