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I want to donate some money (not much, just what I can afford) to AGI Alignment research, to whatever organization has the best chance of making sure that AGI goes well and doesn't kill us all. What are my best options, where can I make the most difference per dollar?
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Richard_Ngo

215

In general, for donating to alignment work, I think that the best approach is to focus on local grants, because those are the ones that won't be picked up by bigger funders, who have a lot of money right now. By "local" I mean things like: if you meet someone who seems promising, fund their flights to visit an alignment hub; or fund them buying textbooks, getting tutoring in ML; etc.

[-]Quadratic Reciprocity65

Couldn't these people just apply to the long-term future fund for those kinds of things and the LTFF could be better at recognising who is promising amongst the people who apply? 

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9Zach Stein-Perlman
Grantmakers aren't always "better at recognising who is promising," mostly because you sometimes have important information they don't, like knowing that someone is smart and knowledgeable and altruistic beyond what that person can make legible to time-constrained grantmakers. If you don't have relevant information, e.g. because you don't know any promising people-who-need-funding, donating to LTFF is great. (I have donated to LTFF. I have never made a "local grant," but I would consider it if I had more money and I knew promising people-who-need-funding.)
7Richard_Ngo
I agree with this, but I think the main bottleneck here is just that those people often don't apply to the LTFF.

Buck

140

My guess is that the Long-Term Future Fund is the best you can do. (I'm a fund manager on a different EA fund.)

Brian Goodrich

141

Larks' 2021 AI Alignment Literature Review and Charity Comparison is a good summary of the organizations and their funding situations.

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[-]Chris_Leong40

I'm actually about to announce an AI Safety microgrant initiative for people who want to are looking to commit at least $1000USD for every year they choose to be involved. The post will be out in the next few days, let me know if you want me to link you when it's ready.

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[-]Cedar20

Could you please link me when grant applications are open instead?

Considering AI Safety as a career and would go for it if I can have some time where I'm not worried about rent.

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[-]Chris_Leong20

There may not be an open round, as we may find connections through our networks. However, if there is, we will post it on the forum.

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