OpenAI, a trailblazer in artificial intelligence (AI) research, has launched the 2024 Superalignment Fast Grants with a focus on addressing the challenges posed by the anticipated emergence of superintelligence in the next decade. Dated December 2023, this initiative recognizes the need for novel alignment techniques to manage the complexities and creative behaviors of future superhuman AI, surpassing current AI systems aligned for safety using reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF).
Objective and Challenges:
The primary challenge identified by OpenAI is steering and trusting AI systems that surpass human intelligence, presenting new challenges beyond current alignment strategies. Acknowledging this as a solvable problem, OpenAI calls upon the machine learning research community and individual researchers to contribute their expertise to this evolving field.
Grant Structure:
To incentivize research in this critical area, OpenAI offers grants ranging from $100,000 to $2 million for academic labs, nonprofits, and individual researchers. Additionally, graduate students have the opportunity to apply for a $150,000 OpenAI Superalignment Fellowship, comprising a $75,000 stipend and $75,000 for compute and research funding.
Focus Areas:
The grants focus on various research directions, including weak-to-strong generalization, interpretability, scalable oversight, and other aspects such as honesty, chain-of-thought faithfulness, adversarial robustness, evals, and testbeds. OpenAI encourages applications from most countries, except where legal restrictions apply. Importantly, no prior alignment experience is necessary, fostering an inclusive approach to diverse expertise.
Application Process:
The application process is designed to be straightforward, welcoming contributions from the global research community. OpenAI commits to responding to applications within four weeks of the deadline on February 18, 2024.
How to Apply:
Interested researchers can apply for the OpenAI grants by following the (application link).
OpenAI’s Superalignment Fast Grants represent a pivotal step in addressing the challenges associated with steering and trusting superhuman AI. By inviting contributions from diverse researchers and institutions, OpenAI aims to foster innovative alignment techniques that will shape the future of AI. The grants not only offer financial support but also contribute to building a collaborative and inclusive research community dedicated to advancing the understanding and alignment of superintelligent AI.
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