I am passionate about AI, humanity’s last invention.
I started my career in knowledge engineering at Bosch RTC in Palo Alto, with a brief year at McKinsey in between to round out my skills.
In 2016, I wrote an article about ethical issues in AI, which became the top-ranked article on the topic. In 2018 I appeared on TV, explaining AI’s coming economic impacts. Around the same time, I became roommates with Andrej Karpathy in Palo Alto. For a while, I texted and called with Ilya Sutskever frequently.
In 2021, OpenAI co-founder Wojciech Zaremba brought me to the GPT-4 offsite at Sam Altman’s estate in Napa, thinking it would make me see him and his company more positively. It achieved the opposite. I became convinced that their efforts pose a grave threat to life worth living.
We need AI governance, and we need AGI efforts that can hold up against OpenAI. Lots of it. As fast as possible.
As a general operator in AI, I thrive in environments where new ideas are required. Currently helping organizations build AI-powered knowledge systems.
I am open to new opportunities.
In addition to my interests in AI and its impacts, I also care deeply about increasing humanity’s collective problem-solving abilities. Currently, I serve on the ethics board at **ICLR.** I am furthermore advising the **Human Rights Measurement Initiative and Rights Intelligence.** It is an honor to be trusted with offering my guidance in these roles.
The World Economic Forum recognized me as a Global Shaper and Agenda Contributor, and the Edmund Hillary Foundation of New Zealand named me an Edmund Hillary Fellow.
Prior to entering the tech and AI field, I studied neuroscience and psychology, and graduated as valedictorian. I wrote my MS thesis at Antonio Damasio's Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI) in Los Angeles.
I have experience as a prototype research engineer at Bosch Research & Technology for NLP, UX, and knowledge engineering. Additionally, I have worked as a management consultant (fellow associate level) at McKinsey & Company, been president of Foresight Institute, and served as a Global Future Council member at the World Economic Forum. I have also been an entrepreneur in residence at Singularity’s Global Startup Program. I have played a role in supporting AI and robotics startups in various capacities, such as at **Vicarious AI** and Fathom Radiant. I’ve also programmed, trained, and finetuned AI models on my own, for example with generative AI.
My 2016 article predicting ethical issues in AI is the top page-ranked result on the topic. I have given talks all over the world, including at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos. I also appeared in a funny documentary with Kal Penn to discuss the future of our economy with AI. In December 2021, I co-hosted the **Virgin Unite** leadership gathering on Necker Island with Richard Branson on unintended consequences of AI.
<aside> 🙏 I don’t always see cold reach-outs. If you’re trying to get a hold of me, feel free to try multiple ways or involve a personal connection.
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