AI safety is a young field with a lot of work to be done. Figuring out what to do can be difficult, as there aren't many default paths to follow.
This week encourages you to think about your career and goals, and to propose a project you could work on over the coming weeks to help you work towards those goals, informed by the knowledge you've gained throughout this course.
The main focus of this week are the two exercises, which you can find after the resources section. Having any plan helps resolve decision paralysis, and you will likely revisit and adapt this plan as you take action and learn more. The important thing, for now, is to get started.

By the end of the unit, you should be able to:
\- Identify key areas of technical AI safety research and their potential impact on AI alignment.
\- Develop a personal action plan to address uncertainties in a selected area of technical AI safety.


Resources: Contributing to AI safety

Exercises: Contributing to AI safety

We believe that _actually build a thing _will bring you closer to contributing to AI Alignment. A common failure mode is to think "Oh, I can't actually do X" or to say "Someone else is probably doing Y." You probably can do X, and it's unlikely anyone is doing Y! It could be you!
We're really excited to help you start working on something awesome and will spend the session workshopping your idea which you can continue to build after this course.
**Make a copy of this [Project Planning Template](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-kGvm22AQTuVdethHD5u9tO_9xRkqKw2VztzG8qknA4/copy) and use the questions to help you start generating project ideas. **The template was originally created for the 12-week Alignment course, but should still translate here!
You can also make use of resources [here](https://course.aisafetyfundamentals.com/alignment?session=9) to help you plan and execute your project.

_Note: You can also apply for our [Writing Intensive](https://aisafetyfundamentals.com/writing/) to transform your learnings into a published article._


Start working on an awesome project

During this course, you've learnt a lot about alignment, and you may now have a sense of the opportunities currently available. How might you factor this into your own career's big picture plan?
This exercise involves brainstorming different long-term paths you could pursue, similar to the suggestions by 80,000 Hours **[here](https://80000hours.org/career-planning/process/longer-term-paths/)**. We encourage you to respond to the prompts below and list any uncertainties you have, and to submit your responses in the text box. The further resources may be particularly helpful.
​
- What are 3-5 roles you could have in 2-5 years, that seem important for AI safety?
    - You could start by brainstorming roles you think are needed to make AI safety go well, then evaluate what roles currently exist and what jobs are **[available](https://jobs.80000hours.org/?refinementList%5Btags_area%5D%5B0%5D=AI%20safety%20%26%20policy)** (the available jobs does not necessarily reflect the work that needs to be done!)
    - You could also consider roles adjacent or related to AI safety, that would help with developing skills and relationships.
- Which of these roles do you naturally feel most excited to test your fit for or work on?
- What **[cheap tests](https://80000hours.org/career-guide/personal-fit/#do-cheap-tests-first)** could help you actually test your fit for these different paths?
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Optional other prompts:
- What strengths, skills, competencies, and other **[career capital](https://80000hours.org/career-guide/career-capital/)** do you already have? Set a **[5-minute timer](https://www.google.com/search?q=5+minute+timer)**, and try to list at least 10 assets you have.
- What do you like and dislike about your current job? Have you had a past job you really enjoyed - if so, why do you think you enjoyed it?
- What goals did you write down in your icebreaker session? How can you now achieve them?
- Brainstorm other skills or areas of expertise that you could develop, that would enhance your ability to contribute. Try to focus on skills that are both **[rare and valuable](https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2022/08/21/key-career-progress/)**. 
    - Another framing for this is to have **[sets of skills](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XvN2QQpKTuEzgkZHY/being-the-pareto-best-in-the-world)** where very few people have capabilities in both, but that can be leveraged together in high-value ways. 
    - We encourage you to consider options that you'd be excited to explore, or have a comparative advantage for.
​
To get feedback on your plan, we'd encourage sharing it with your cohort's Slack channel or just your facilitator.

You may also be interested in applying to BlueDot Impact’s **[AI Safety Career Acceleration Program](https://airtable.com/appOWNOtaRhltoBVE/pagILa0hKWEmWLX7o/form) **(which has replaced the AISF Talent Pool)**. **We’ll review applications as they come in and reach out to selected candidates to schedule calls once we launch the program.


(Optional) Make your career awesome

AI Alignment Fast-Track

Contributing to AI safety

Why might we lose control to AI, and why is this a difficult problem to solve?

Losing control to AI

Learn why telling AI systems to do what we want is a surprisingly challenging task.

AI Alignment Fast-Track

Resources: Contributing to AI safety

Resources (1 hr 20 mins)