Siao Si Looi

Mar 14, 2024 | lesswrong.com | Euan McLean |Seth Herd |Siao Si Looi |Tamsin Leake

Doing a PhD is a strong option to get great at developing and evaluating research ideas. These skills are necessary to become an AI safety research lead, one of the key talent bottlenecks in AI safety, and are helpful in a variety of other roles. By contrast, my impression is that currently many individuals with the goal of being a research lead pursue options like independent research or engineering-focused positions instead of doing a PhD.