Abstract
The US government is likely to be a key actor in how advanced AI is developed and used in society, whether directly or indirectly. One of the main ways that AI might not yield substantial benefits to society is if there is a race to the bottom on AI safety. Governments are likely to be key actors that could contribute to an environment leading to such a race or could actively prevent one. Good scenarios seem more likely if there are more thoughtful people working in government who have expertise in AI development and are concerned about its effects on society over the long-term. In some ways, this may be a high-risk, high-reward career option. There’s a significant chance that pursuing this career path could result in little social impact. But we think impactful progress in this area could be extremely important, so the overall value of aiming to work on US AI policy seems high. We think there is potentially room for hundreds of people to build expertise and career capital in roles that may allow them to work on the most relevant areas of AI policy. If you’re a thoughtful American interested in developing expertise and technical abilities in the domain of AI policy, then this may be one of your highest-impact options, particularly if you have been to or can get into a top grad school in law, policy, international relations or machine learning. (If you’re not American, working on AI policy may also be a good option, but some of the best long-term positions in the US may be much harder for you to get.)
