<aside> 👋 Welcome! Below are all the topics and readings we’ll cover during the BAIST AI Policy program this spring. For each session, we aim to do ~1 hour of reading and ~1 hour of discussion in-person (though you’re welcome to do the optional readings beforehand). No work will be required outside of our weekly 2-hour meeting.

This program will introduce you to the field of AI policy with a focus on safety and catastrophic risk prevention. The goal of the program is to equip you with the knowledge to begin a career in AI safety.

Apply here by Saturday, September 14

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<aside> 🚨 FOR PARTICIPANTS ONLY Fill out this onboarding form (~5 mins). Most fields are optional, feel free to leave them blank. Make sure you select AI Safety Fundamental Governance for the Course track.

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Session 1: Introduction to Machine Learning

  1. But what is a neural network? (3Blue1Brown, 2017). Watch first 12.5 min, rest optional.
  2. The AI Triad and what it means for national security strategy (Buchanan, 2020) 21 min.
  3. Visualizing the deep learning revolution (Ngo, 2023). 15 min.
  4. 4 charts that show why AI progress is unlikely to slow down (Henshall, 2023). 8 min.
  5. **How ChatGPT Works, Technically** (ByteByteGo, 2023). 8 min.

Optional readings:

  1. **Gradient descent, how neural networks learn (3Blue1Brown, 2017). Video; 20 mins.**
  2. **A short introduction to machine learning (Ngo, 2021). 11 min.**
  3. **The bitter lesson** (Stutton, 2019)

Session 2: Overview of risks from advanced AI systems

  1. [Overview of how AI might exacerbate long-running catastrophic risks](https://aisafetyfundamentals.com/blog/overview-of-ai-risk-exacerbation?_gl=1*13q1d3h*_ga*MTkyNDUzNTAyNS4xNzA2MjIzMzI0*_ga_8W59C8ZY6T*MTcwNjIyMzMyMy4xLjEuMTcwNjIyNDYyOC4wLjAuMA..) (BlueDotImpact, 2023) 15 min. Alternate paper: An overview of catastrophic AI risks (Hendrycks et al., 2023).
  2. **2022 Expert Survey on Progress in AI (Stein-Perlman et al., 2022). Read “Summary of results.” 2 min.**
  3. Harms from increasingly agentic algorithmic systems (Chan et al., 2023). Read pgs. 2-6 (§ 1 & 2). 10 min.
  4. Why AI alignment could be hard with modern deep learning (Cotra, 2021). 20 min.