a tiny handful of people have had an outsized influence on AI safety -- think of e.g. METR's recent 3-person investigation team, or of @EncodeAction and @GuidelightAI's pacing letter https://t.co/9XWdIi5ooc
I'm so happy for Sunny getting well-deserved recognition in TIME. I met him when we were both working on SB 1047, and there is nothing like an intense legislative fight and Twitter flamewar to bring people together.
When I first joined Encode, there were no full time employees because all of the folks there were still college students. I talked to some people at the time who were skeptical/perplexed by my decision to join, but I knew in my gut and from my experience working with them that these college kids had a fire and vision that they would make into reality if given the chance.
Working with Sunny and his endless energy and optimism in the face of insane challenges is one of the biggest reasons I love what I do for a living. Congrats again!!
Incredibly surreal and grateful to be named to the TIME100 AI for my work at Encode.
I first got involved at Encode after meeting its founder, @SnehaRevanur, at a summer internship when we were both in college and naively pitched the idea of creating an advocacy arm that would pursue legislative wins. Building Encode over the three years since—alongside @AdamBillen, @_NathanCalvin, and the rest of our incredible team—from an organization without a single full time staffer to what it is now has been the privilege of a lifetime.
Encode is now at the center of some of the most contentious AI safety debates of our time. I’m proud to say we have helped pass multiple state and federal laws, blocked ones that we thought would have harmed the public interest, and materially changed the actions of some of the most powerful companies on the planet.
Excited for the fights ahead and very grateful for all those that believed in and supported us back when we were just a few kids in a trench coat.
https://t.co/XH3kkbLMPg
Incredibly surreal and grateful to be named to the TIME100 AI for my work at Encode.
I first got involved at Encode after meeting its founder, @SnehaRevanur, at a summer internship when we were both in college and naively pitched the idea of creating an advocacy arm that would pursue legislative wins. Building Encode over the three years since—alongside @AdamBillen, @_NathanCalvin, and the rest of our incredible team—from an organization without a single full time staffer to what it is now has been the privilege of a lifetime.
Encode is now at the center of some of the most contentious AI safety debates of our time. I’m proud to say we have helped pass multiple state and federal laws, blocked ones that we thought would have harmed the public interest, and materially changed the actions of some of the most powerful companies on the planet.
Excited for the fights ahead and very grateful for all those that believed in and supported us back when we were just a few kids in a trench coat.
https://t.co/XH3kkbLMPg
We’re hiring in SF!
Encode cut its teeth in DC. People said AI politics was a bad bet; we made unlikely friends, won the fight to keep states in play, and helped pass the Big 3 of AI laws (CA SB 53, NY RAISE, IL SB 315).
It’s time to double up in SF. Pacing the Frontier (https://t.co/eRdNgMWZDA), which we helped organize, was recently signed by 1,378 frontier lab employees and endorsed by both OpenAI and Anthropic. The last time we felt this rush of opportunity was Sacramento in 2024.
AI risk has gone from an online culture war to a fact of life. SF is full of people who want to act, lab employees especially, but don’t see a place to plug in. We need someone to help us build the grid.
Encode’s lab engagement has been running on adrenaline and personal relationships. That got @_NathanCalvin and me here, but it’s time to level up. Misalignment is getting scary. “Pacing” has real legs now. Researchers are using their voices to influence lab leaders and alert the world. Many of those researchers say that soon, their jobs - and the voice their jobs give them - will be unrecognizable or won’t exist.
We want to hire someone who is:
(1) Mission-aligned. You want to ensure AI doesn’t cause catastrophe (or kill everyone) and the future is the best it can be
(2) Extremely organized, high-functioning, excited to add structure so ad hoc actions compound
(3) Pragmatic, able to pivot when crazy things happen (if the last few months are any indication...)
(4) Hard to typecast - not because you lack beliefs, but because you see the best in many kinds of people.
The role will start with supporting lab engagement and expand. It’ll be insanely fun (we take the work seriously, not ourselves). You’ll visit DC regularly as AI’s political salience takes off and get to know a team that feels like family.
If you’re interested, email me by September 4 at [email protected] with the subject line “SF Special Projects” and a few sentences each on (1) a relevant project you’ve owned and (2) what you think Encode SF should do next. If someone you know could be a good fit... I want to meet them!
We’re hiring in SF!
Encode cut its teeth in DC. People said AI politics was a bad bet; we made unlikely friends, won the fight to keep states in play, and helped pass the Big 3 of AI laws (CA SB 53, NY RAISE, IL SB 315).
It’s time to double up in SF. Pacing the Frontier (https://t.co/eRdNgMWZDA), which we helped organize, was recently signed by 1,378 frontier lab employees and endorsed by both OpenAI and Anthropic. The last time we felt this rush of opportunity was Sacramento in 2024.
AI risk has gone from an online culture war to a fact of life. SF is full of people who want to act, lab employees especially, but don’t see a place to plug in. We need someone to help us build the grid.
Encode’s lab engagement has been running on adrenaline and personal relationships. That got @_NathanCalvin and me here, but it’s time to level up. Misalignment is getting scary. “Pacing” has real legs now. Researchers are using their voices to influence lab leaders and alert the world. Many of those researchers say that soon, their jobs - and the voice their jobs give them - will be unrecognizable or won’t exist.
We want to hire someone who is:
(1) Mission-aligned. You want to ensure AI doesn’t cause catastrophe (or kill everyone) and the future is the best it can be
(2) Extremely organized, high-functioning, excited to add structure so ad hoc actions compound
(3) Pragmatic, able to pivot when crazy things happen (if the last few months are any indication...)
(4) Hard to typecast - not because you lack beliefs, but because you see the best in many kinds of people.
The role will start with supporting lab engagement and expand. It’ll be insanely fun (we take the work seriously, not ourselves). You’ll visit DC regularly as AI’s political salience takes off and get to know a team that feels like family.
If you’re interested, email me by September 4 at [email protected] with the subject line “SF Special Projects” and a few sentences each on (1) a relevant project you’ve owned and (2) what you think Encode SF should do next. If someone you know could be a good fit... I want to meet them!
Unless i'm mistaken, no agencies responsible for cybersecurity in the US government will be receiving early access to Mythos under Project Glasswing, because Anthropic is still labeled a supply chain risk!
Seems bad!
Come work with me and the rest of the team at Encode! We have two open job listings right now:
• Policy Advisor - Coalitions
• Operations Manager
I can't promise you it will be easy work, but I can promise it will never be dull!
(job links in reply)
Sneha is one of the smartest, hard working, and inspiring young people I’ve met recently. She and her awesome @EncodeAction team started this program to help young people figure out their career path in light of the massive shifts we’re seeing from AI…
This could be the best or worst time ever to start a career.
AI is now your coworker, competitor … and maybe even your replacement.
Leaders have been fumbling for words on what’s next. Today, we offer Game Plan, your playbook to prepare for AI. 🧵
📸🇬🇧 Encode’s @_NathanCalvin in London at the Athens Roundtable on AI and the Rule of Law!
At the event, Nathan discussed California’s new AI law and how our work in the U.S. fits within the global AI policy landscape.
NEW: We sent a letter to Congressional Armed Services leadership alongside @EncodeAction, ParentsRISE, and @ncypalliance urging them to reject AI preemption in a defense package.
Over 2000 people signed on from all 50 states including youth advocates and survivor parents.
Prominent youth online safety advocacy organizations are urging Congress to reject an attempt to block state laws on artificial intelligence, warning such a move would undo new protections for children and teenagers. https://t.co/wPZfZkiB1i
After seven years in the legislature, and a multi-year hiatus from this app, I’m preparing for the next chapter of my career as California Policy Director for @EncodeAction!
(S/O @ChaseDiFelice for taking the time to make me sound way cooler than I actually am)
We disrupted a highly sophisticated AI-led espionage campaign.
The attack targeted large tech companies, financial institutions, chemical manufacturing companies, and government agencies. We assess with high confidence that the threat actor was a Chinese state-sponsored group.