Free career advice for people who are considering starting an AI safety org (technical, governance, meta, for-profit, or non-profit).
Get help with questions like:
Who's a good fit for this service?
How does it work?
You apply. If you're accepted, you'll get on a call with Kat Woods, an experienced EA charity entrepreneur. Calls usually last 30-60 minutes and are one-off. Occasionally, a second follow-up call will be arranged.
If we like the idea you’re starting and it seems like the advice is adding value, there’s the possibility of career advice turning into an ongoing coaching relationship (apply for that here).
What if you want to start a meta or governance charity or a for-profit?
We give career advice to anybody considering starting something that might help with AI safety. This includes meta, governance, technical, for-profits, and anything else that could feasibly reduce extinction risks from transformative AI.
Do you give advice to people who are not considering starting an AI safety org?
You must be at least considering starting an org in AI safety to qualify for Nonlinear career advice.
You can still apply if you're considering other careers in addition to entrepreneurship, or other cause areas in addition to AI safety.
We don't always end up recommending people start something. There are a lot of reasons to start something and there are a lot of reasons not to as well. We will cater the advice to your unique situation and personality.
If you don't want to start a charity but want career advice for AI safety, we recommend checking out 80,000 Hours or checking out this part or this part of the EA Forum.
How is this different from 80,000 Hours?
We very much recommend receiving career advice from 80,000 Hours! They will give you broader advice.
Nonlinear’s service is specific to people considering starting orgs in AI safety.
We also have different world models and philosophies, such that a lot of advice will end up being different.
How is this different from Nonlinear coaching?
One-off. Career advice is a one-off call. Coaching is an ongoing relationship with regular calls.
Pre-startup. Career advice is specifically for people who are considering starting an AI safety org. Coaching can be for people who have already started something or for people who haven't started something but are planning to.
What's the price?
It costs nothing. This is funded by donations so it's free for you.
If you're interested in this, you might enjoy reading:
Get help with questions like:
- Am I a good fit for charity entrepreneurship?
- How do I get funding in AI safety?
- Should I get more experience at a regular job first or get a Masters or Ph.D. before starting?
- How do I choose which idea to start?
- Can you help me come up with an idea (we have a giant list of ideas we can share with you)
- Could you give me feedback on the charity idea I have?
- What skills should I be developing if I want to start a charity?
- How do I get connected to the people in my specific field?
Who's a good fit for this service?
- Experienced entrepreneurs wanting to jump into AI x-risk. If you've already started something in another field and you're worried about how AI is going, I can help you find your bearings in this new arena. I can help with things like understanding the funding landscape, pointing you toward the right people to talk to, and helping you find and develop an idea in this complex field.
- First-time entrepreneurs wanting to know if this is the right career decision. If you're new to the entrepreneurship game, I can help you figure out whether you're a good fit or not, help you compare it to your other options, help you improve your idea or find one, point you to resources to help you skill up fast in the relevant areas, and generally help you get clarity about whether you should take the plunge or not.
How does it work?
You apply. If you're accepted, you'll get on a call with Kat Woods, an experienced EA charity entrepreneur. Calls usually last 30-60 minutes and are one-off. Occasionally, a second follow-up call will be arranged.
If we like the idea you’re starting and it seems like the advice is adding value, there’s the possibility of career advice turning into an ongoing coaching relationship (apply for that here).
What if you want to start a meta or governance charity or a for-profit?
We give career advice to anybody considering starting something that might help with AI safety. This includes meta, governance, technical, for-profits, and anything else that could feasibly reduce extinction risks from transformative AI.
Do you give advice to people who are not considering starting an AI safety org?
You must be at least considering starting an org in AI safety to qualify for Nonlinear career advice.
You can still apply if you're considering other careers in addition to entrepreneurship, or other cause areas in addition to AI safety.
We don't always end up recommending people start something. There are a lot of reasons to start something and there are a lot of reasons not to as well. We will cater the advice to your unique situation and personality.
If you don't want to start a charity but want career advice for AI safety, we recommend checking out 80,000 Hours or checking out this part or this part of the EA Forum.
How is this different from 80,000 Hours?
We very much recommend receiving career advice from 80,000 Hours! They will give you broader advice.
Nonlinear’s service is specific to people considering starting orgs in AI safety.
We also have different world models and philosophies, such that a lot of advice will end up being different.
How is this different from Nonlinear coaching?
One-off. Career advice is a one-off call. Coaching is an ongoing relationship with regular calls.
Pre-startup. Career advice is specifically for people who are considering starting an AI safety org. Coaching can be for people who have already started something or for people who haven't started something but are planning to.
What's the price?
It costs nothing. This is funded by donations so it's free for you.
If you're interested in this, you might enjoy reading: