This post is part of our monthly activity update series. Each activity update briefly describes what we’ve been up to in the last month and, hopefully, helps to shed light on how our priorities shift over time. Note that some of our time each month will be spent investigating future project opportunities that may not be covered in these posts until our plans are more solid.

Accomplishments

  • In collaboration with the Center for Human-Compatible AI (CHAI), we…

    • Funded three interns to work with CHAI over the summer

    • Continued development of graphic and software projects

    • Put together preliminary plans for the next year of collaboration

  • In collaboration with the Future of Humanity Institute (FHI), we….

    • Contracted three academic researchers to collaborate with FHI’s Governance of AI Program.

  • We contracted Roam Research, Inc. (Roam) to provide free use of and customer service for its pre-launch software to x-risk-focused organizations and their employees, if they desire to try it. Roam will also provide free troubleshooting and feature request support. We expect to follow Roam’s development and hope that our engagement will help Roam create tools specifically designed to serve the x-risk ecosystem.

  • We donated an unrestricted gift of $4,524 to support the work of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.

Works in Progress

We are…

  • Hiring! We are seeking a Machine Learning Research Engineer interested in working with CHAI, a COO, and Project Managers: http://existence.org/jobs/.

  • Wrapping up our Round One Project Grants program—grantees have been selected and notified, and we are in the process of sending out funds.

  • Investigating four organizations for possible grants from BERI.

  • Preparing to work with an external contractor to improve BERI’s financial management.

  • Exploring the possibility of setting up a program that would allow groups to apply for fiscal sponsorship with BERI.