How to Help Make Artificial Intelligence Safe for Humanity

We are slightly more intelligent than chimpanzees, yet this slight advantage makes the difference between planetary dominance and an endangered species. Most surveyed AI researchers believe that we will develop advanced human-level AI systems in this century^{[1]XResearch source}—thus losing our place as the most intelligent being on the planet. We don’t know yet how to ensure that AI systems align with human interests. If they don’t align, AI could destroy humanity’s long-term potential by locking in a permanent dystopia or ending civilization. You can help safeguard our future by working on AI safety and policy, or donating to reduce the risk of misaligned artificial intelligence.

Part 1

Part 1 of 5:

Learning

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Imagine one scenario of how AI might risk humanity’s future. In the usual Matrix scenarios, the AI is evil and wants to destroy humanity. In reality, the AI doesn't need to be necessarily evil to unintentionally drive humanity extinct—it just needs its goals to differ from human interests.
- Suppose we have an AI whose only goal is to make as many paper clips as possible. The AI will realize quickly that it would be much better if there were no humans because humans might decide to switch it off. Because if humans do so, there would be fewer paper clips. Also, human bodies contain a lot of atoms that could be made into paper clips. So the AI might build a future with many paper clips but no humans.
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Understand why AI risk is neglected. In 2019, roughly $40 million^{[2]XResearch source} was provided by donors and grantmakers to reduce potential risks from AI. The global ice cream market is worth $60 billion—more than 1,000 times larger than AI security donations.
- Because AI risk is neglected by most of society, it means that a marginal unit of your time or money is likely to be much more effective than if you tried to solve a problem that gets constant media attention.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 5:

Working

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Consider changing your career. We can all play a part in making the world safer. If you have the skills to work on AI safety or policy, consider shifting your career toward this area.
- Explore other career options by reading How to Make a Difference in Your Career.
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Brainstorm ways to help align AI. The FTX Future Fund published an excellent list of project ideas from which you can take inspiration. Different approaches exist:
- Advocating for awareness of misaligned AI at the national and international level
- Ensuring the wealth created by AI is distributed fairly, and incentivizing AI companies to build AI safely.
- Training AI systems to incorporate human feedback into their summarization tasks so that the AI systems reflect hard-to-define human preferences.
- Figuring out how to understand "what AI systems are thinking and how they're reasoning" to make them less mysterious.
- Figuring out how to stop AI systems from making terrible judgments on images designed to fool them, and other work focused on helping avoid the “worst case” behaviors of AI systems.
Evaluate a new job in AI safety or policy by reading 80,000 Hours’ detailed career reviews on AI safety technical research and Long-term AI policy strategy research and implementation.
Consult the 80,000 Hours’ Job Board for a curated list of high-impact AI safety and policy jobs.
Career planning can be tough to do by yourself. 80,000 Hours’ advisors can help you choose your focus, make connections, and find a fulfilling job to tackle one of the world’s most important problems. It’s free. Apply to speak with 80,000 Hours.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 5:

Donating

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Donate to AI alignment research. Founders Pledge is an organization that encourages entrepreneurs to pledge a portion of their income to philanthropic causes. By donating to their recommended AI alignment charities, you can help create a better future for humanity:
- The Center for Human Compatible AI is an academic research center at the University of California that carries out technical and advocacy work to help ensure the safety of AI systems and build the field of future AI researchers.
- The Center for Security and Emerging Technology is a think tank based at Georgetown University that produces policy analysis at the intersection of national and international security and emerging tech.
- The best charities for AI alignment research are constantly changing as new information and technologies become available. However, one way to ensure that your donation will be used effectively is to donate to a fund where experts research and recommend grants to the most promising AI alignment charities and researchers.
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Donate to the Long-Term Future Fund. The Long-Term Future Fund aims to positively influence the long-term trajectory of civilization by making grants that address global catastrophic risks, especially potential risks from advanced artificial intelligence and pandemics. An expert committee selects the most effective charities—without taking any fees—and you can read their transparent reasoning behind previous grants in the payout reports.
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Part 4

Part 4 of 5:

Committing to Your Plan

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Take the Giving What We Can Pledge. You might lose your motivation to do good over time. The Giving What We Can pledge helps you commit to donating a meaningful portion of your income to improve the lives of others. It can help you live up to your values, meet like-minded people, and inspire others to follow suit. Sign the pledge here.
- Almost 10,000 people signed the Giving What We Can Pledge, a non-binding pledge to donate more than 10% of your income to effective charities.
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Join an impact-oriented community. Discussing things with others is often the best way to make progress on your questions. Effective altruism is a global community with thousands of members trying to maximize their impact. Here are some ways to get connected:
- Join a virtual program to discuss these ideas in a series of online meetups hosted by experienced facilitators
- Find an effective altruism event, from live conferences to in-person and virtual meetups
- Join an effective altruism group, either locally or online.
- Read the vibrant Effective Altruism Forum of professionals happy to exchange information, answer questions, and share resources.
- Check out the AI alignment Forum, a hub for researchers to discuss all ideas related to ensuring that transformatively powerful AIs are aligned with human values.
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Part 5

Part 5 of 5:

Multiplying Your Impact

By encouraging others to donate to safeguard the future of humanity, you multiply the impact of your gift. For example, you can talk to a friend at dinner or share your donation on social media.
You can create a fundraising campaign on Facebook, and 100% of the proceeds will go to your selected charity.
Getting a promotion or changing career to earn more money can be high-impact if you donate your extra income. If you give 10% of your income, getting a 10% pay rise and donating the difference means that you double your impact.
Some companies match charitable donations 1:1 or even more. By choosing an employer that does this, you may be able to double your donations with no effort.
By hosting a workplace workshop with your coworkers, you can expose your network to the idea of effective giving in an interactive and informative way.
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