There’s been a bit of a hiatus from when I wrote my last blog post and now. A lot of stuff has happened. Maybe I’ll write a more thorough post about everything if I feel like it. Actually maybe I should just write more, here.

But as for now, I just want to share the fact that I’ve published my first paper! We’ve submitted it to ICLR and I hope it gets accepted :)

Cliche linkedin-esque but true rant incoming:

I’m immensely grateful for this opportunity to be able to be a part of this project. Neel and Tom are fantastic mentors, Callum and Arthur hard carried, and I happened to be in the right place and at the right time to work with all of them.

I wrote this paper as a part of the Summer 2023 SERI MATS cohort. This has been one of the most intellectually stimulating endeavors in my life, and one of the coolest times too. The road to this point was long and arduous, but very much worth it. There were many rounds of competitive applications and many hours of learning and experimentation - but once I was in, I made countless friends, connections, and memories; I got the time and space to think and work on problems I think are meaningful and exciting.

I may write a detailed retrospective about it later. As for now, I’ll say that I would recommend it thoroughly to anyone interested in taking AI Safety seriously. For students, don’t get discouraged by the fact it is also for professionals: it never hurts to apply! (I think Neel’s more intensive application process benefited me as I was able to highlight my skills in ways a resume wouldn’t capture)

some other highlights/memories:

• eating daily with some of the brightest people i’ve ever met before
• the Neel Nanda office whiteboard which continually got vandalized (by me)
• a surfing trip, a hiking trip, a dim sum trip, a trip to a weird science museum, a trip up a hill in UC Berkeley while learning about the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
• Oppenheimer
• a lovely low-key city with good food
• (bad) tennis
• one iffy rock climbing session
• sitting on grass at night discussing spare encoders
• minecraft in the office at 3:00 AM Saturday morning
• some of the strangest parties i’ve been to
  • yes they fit some of the bay area house party stereotypes
• YMCA gym