AI safety needs more than engineers

There’s a lot of important work in AI safety that doesn’t require technical skills.

When I (Avital) first read about AI safety work, I assumed there wasn’t anything I could do. I was a writer and researcher who liked talking to people, and I thought the field only needed technical talent and money, neither of which I’d be able to provide.

So instead, I went to grad school for medieval history.

Of course, a lot of AI safety work is technical, and I knew I’d have a better shot if I could learn those skills. Unfortunately, it wasn’t how my brain worked. But as I got to know more people in the field, it became clear that my own skills could actually be useful. Technical AI safety organisations do much more than produce research: they hire people, run events, raise money, and share their ideas with the outside world. None of this requires linear algebra.

Some of the most important roles in AI safety are non-technical. In fact, I’ve met people who used to have technical roles, but now focus on communications, policy, fieldbuilding, or operations because they think those are genuinely more needed right now.

So what should you do if you want to try working in AI safety, but your talents don’t lie in a technical domain? First, think expansively about what you’re good at.

• What do people most often ask you for advice about?
• What have your professors or managers said you’re unusually good at?
  • Or: What does it seem like most people are confusingly bad at?

Next, check our career reviews for jobs that use your skills. If you’re a great writer, you might consider a role where you communicate ideas. If you’re good at managing people, events, or organisations, operations management or fieldbuilding could be your best options. If you’re good at navigating bureaucracy and working with people who see the world very differently, you might be suited for AI governance or electoral politics.

What should you do to get a job?

• Learn about AI safety. You don’t need to be able to code your own model, but you should have a sense of what’s happening with AI and what the risks are.
• Make your skills legible. Rework your resume to highlight relevant experience. Make a personal website to catalogue your achievements. Get testimonials from people you’ve worked with. If you’re a good writer, publish a few posts.
  • For more ideas, see this guidance on ways to build and test skills outside of a formal job (from our career advisor Laura González Salmerón).

If you want help making a career plan that uses your skills, apply for advising! And if you’re ready to start looking for jobs, check out our job board or read our career guide.