Episode

"“I am an AI Safety Researcher”" by Ashe Vazquez Nuñez

Podcast
LessWrong (Curated & Popular)
Published
Sep 25, 2026
Duration seconds
1664
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not_requested
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https://www.buzzsprout.com/2037297/episodes/19862399-i-am-an-ai-safety-researcher-by-ashe-vazquez-nunez.mp3
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https://www.buzzsprout.com/2037297/episodes/19862399-i-am-an-ai-safety-researcher-by-ashe-vazquez-nunez.mp3
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Summary

Written as part of the MATS 9.1 extension program, mentored by Richard Ngo. Additional thanks to Andrew Wu, Maria Kostylew, and Lennie Wells for helpful draft feedback and editing. This post reflects on the tortured distinction between "safety" and "capabilities" in AI research. Richard Ngo has written about why the alignment vs. capabilities ontology is conceptually fraught, and is currently arguing that key strategic decision-makers in and around "AI safety" have brought about the AI ...