{"items": [{"author": "Chris", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880877856592", "anchor": "fb-880877856592", "service": "fb", "text": "Sorry to hear that Jeff. Even if it's an opportunity, it's never much fun to get laid off.", "timestamp": "1497975782"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880877856592&reply_comment_id=880877976352", "anchor": "fb-880877856592_880877976352", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Thanks!", "timestamp": "1497975849"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880878131042", "anchor": "fb-880878131042", "service": "fb", "text": "(We're ok financially: we have savings and the severance is good)", "timestamp": "1497975896"}, {"author": "Hollis", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880878759782", "anchor": "fb-880878759782", "service": "fb", "text": "I'm sorry to hear it, and glad to see that you're approaching it with your characteristic optimism and curiosity.", "timestamp": "1497976001"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880878944412", "anchor": "fb-880878944412", "service": "fb", "text": "In some ways this was good news: I'd been feeling pretty conflicted with replaceability-related concerns, where the company seemed to be much less constrained by engineering resources than I had thought before joining.", "timestamp": "1497976102"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880878944412&reply_comment_id=880886329612", "anchor": "fb-880878944412_880886329612", "service": "fb", "text": "→ And laying off a bunch of engineers does seem to be confirmation that they weren't engineering talent constrained", "timestamp": "1497978709"}, {"author": "Danner", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880879044212", "anchor": "fb-880879044212", "service": "fb", "text": "Following...", "timestamp": "1497976134"}, {"author": "Kiran", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880879044212&reply_comment_id=881039752152", "anchor": "fb-880879044212_881039752152", "service": "fb", "text": "→ There's a menu item for that.", "timestamp": "1498028046"}, {"author": "Abe", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880880935422", "anchor": "fb-880880935422", "service": "fb", "text": "Sorry to hear it- seemed you were looking forward to helping through Wave work. We just got back from 2 weeks in Tanzania & visited 6 non profits we support their or are considering supporting. Based on our short visit I can see some truths to your point that places in Africa need talent more than resources. We saw a well funded education group that had could not get government approval to start teaching. But they had already leased a building- and bought all the equipment. We saw a school that had 60 tablets for the kids to use. But no idea what programs to have the kids use- The one they showed us that they used the last 9 months was terrible. So they definitely need talent. But how to add your talent effectively from Boston?? Always interesting to hear how you approach problems.", "timestamp": "1497976458"}, {"author": "Bronwyn", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880881803682", "anchor": "fb-880881803682", "service": "fb", "text": "Sorry to hear, but glad to hear it's also an opportunity for you. My default response to this sort of thing is 'move to Pittsburgh', but since that's not on the table...
I like the world of data and ML, though I don't know much about the 'AI risk' angle or the EA/ML relationship generally. I do know a fair bit about the software engineering/ML relationship, at least in academia and some companies (might be different at Amazon etc). I am very happy with my PhD in stats (aka ML) because I want to be focused on the data and the questions rather than the pipelines and deployment. We have software engineers on our team who enjoy the other side of things, but in my experience there is always a bottleneck on engineering and less time to 'learn about ML' than might be ideal. In my own career, a PhD was probably actually financially worth it, but probably not in comparison to an alternative of a senior software engineering position.", "timestamp": "1497976818"}, {"author": "Laura", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880881808672", "anchor": "fb-880881808672", "service": "fb", "text": "So sorry to hear. A new window will open!", "timestamp": "1497976830"}, {"author": "Ryan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880882806672", "anchor": "fb-880882806672", "service": "fb", "text": "Adding to the chorus of \"layoffs suck -- if only because they mean you have to find something else -- and I'm sorry it happened to you.\"", "timestamp": "1497977221"}, {"author": "Linda", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880882811662", "anchor": "fb-880882811662", "service": "fb", "text": "sorry to hear about your layoff, hope you find something that will make you happy real soon.", "timestamp": "1497977222"}, {"author": "Sophia", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880882951382", "anchor": "fb-880882951382", "service": "fb", "text": "Sorry to hear about the layoff. I am currently trying to hire a principal software engineer; I suspect the job wouldn't meet your overall EA goals but let me know if you want to chat.", "timestamp": "1497977311"}, {"author": "Varun", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880883724832", "anchor": "fb-880883724832", "service": "fb", "text": "Bayes Impact", "timestamp": "1497977673"}, {"author": "Sander", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880886898472", "anchor": "fb-880886898472", "service": "fb", "text": "Sorry to see you go Jeff", "timestamp": "1497979003"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880886898472&reply_comment_id=880891085082", "anchor": "fb-880886898472_880891085082", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I'll miss working with you and everyone else!", "timestamp": "1497979631"}, {"author": "Leah", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880886898472&reply_comment_id=880918170802", "anchor": "fb-880886898472_880918170802", "service": "fb", "text": "→ ", "timestamp": "1497988581"}, {"author": "Kate", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880888076112", "anchor": "fb-880888076112", "service": "fb", "text": "Sorry to hear it, Jeff! Good luck figuring out your next steps!", "timestamp": "1497979312"}, {"author": "Kate", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880888076112&reply_comment_id=880890571112", "anchor": "fb-880888076112_880890571112", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Also, maybe check out MIT Lincoln Lab? It's in Lexington, but the 76 goes there from Alewife. (My dad worked there for more than 30 years.)", "timestamp": "1497979484"}, {"author": "Joshua", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880890311632", "anchor": "fb-880890311632", "service": "fb", "text": "Kyla's company (3Play Media) is looking for software engineers.", "timestamp": "1497979441"}, {"author": "Darrell", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880894707822", "anchor": "fb-880894707822", "service": "fb", "text": "Knowing you only from your very thoughtful blog posts and your online music (I'm a contra dancer and musician), I think you would be a real asset to a non-profit organization and it might give you flexibility to parent/play music. I suspect you'd make a great teacher also. Best of luck!", "timestamp": "1497980741"}, {"author": "Yaron", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880900800612", "anchor": "fb-880900800612", "service": "fb", "text": "Sorry about the tough break. Been there in the all-too-recent past. It sucks even when you have a comfortable financial cushion and a nice severance package.
Cyber security is an expanding (and important) field right now - quite a bit of hiring going on. The challenge is becoming ever more complex, and innovative answers that provide breakthroughs, rather than essentially protracting the \"arms race\" between attackers and defenders, have been elusive - there's a need for astute and innovative minds.
I ended up landing a cyber security position at Draper, not b/c I knew anything about cyber security, but b/c they appreciated my depth of understanding of low-level computer engineering (in your case it would be the opposite - a depth of understanding of high-level programming and massively networked systems) and curiosity about what's \"under the hood.\" And I somehow managed to fool them into thinking that I enjoy a challenge and am good at learning and figuring things out independently... (b.t.w. Draper is still hiring.)
N.b.: Companies that do cyber security often do a lot of gov't/defense contract work; and you'd most likely be expected to apply for security clearance.", "timestamp": "1497983241"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880900800612&reply_comment_id=880919508122", "anchor": "fb-880900800612_880919508122", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I'm not up for any jobs that require getting a security clearance, sorry!", "timestamp": "1497988842"}, {"author": "Todd", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880900800612&reply_comment_id=880995895042", "anchor": "fb-880900800612_880995895042", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Not all positions at Draper require a security clearance, though I'm not sure whether Draper robustly passes your list of requirements in any case.", "timestamp": "1498007793"}, {"author": "Michael", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880904113972", "anchor": "fb-880904113972", "service": "fb", "text": "I'm not as concerned, in your case, about the loss of the job as that the exciting new opportunity lost its excitement. Best wishes as you search for a new direction!", "timestamp": "1497984299"}, {"author": "Ben", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880904328542", "anchor": "fb-880904328542", "service": "fb", "text": "I found the 80k jobs board to have a surprisingly good array of orgs to work for in different cause areas (I quite like their nukes and VIP risk orgs): https://80000hours.org/job-board/
You could also join your wife and apply as full-stack developer for CEA: https://www.centreforeffectivealtruism.org/.../full.../
As for part-time / contractor positions, BERI and CHAI are looking for python and web developers respectively:
- http://existence.org/jobs/#python-developer
- http://humancompatible.ai/jobs/#web-developer
I'll add others if I think of them.", "timestamp": "1497984348"}, {"author": "Ben", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880904328542&reply_comment_id=880905216762", "anchor": "fb-880904328542_880905216762", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Ah, I realise the blog post lists more extensive constraints and ideas. Neither BERI nor CHAI would have nearby colleagues I expect. Nonetheless, looking through 80k's job board could still be useful.", "timestamp": "1497984648"}, {"author": "Alice", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880907147892", "anchor": "fb-880907147892", "service": "fb", "text": "I'm so sorry. Will Google take you back?", "timestamp": "1497985443"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880907147892&reply_comment_id=880907347492", "anchor": "fb-880907147892_880907347492", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Very likely if I want to, but I'm not sure if that's my best option", "timestamp": "1497985525"}, {"author": "Lisa", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880907147892&reply_comment_id=880907596992", "anchor": "fb-880907147892_880907596992", "service": "fb", "text": "→ But they do such lovely food \ud83d\ude2c", "timestamp": "1497985648"}, {"author": "David", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880907147892&reply_comment_id=880977297312", "anchor": "fb-880907147892_880977297312", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I would be somewhat confident you can come back if you want to provided there is a project fit. I know a number of people who have returned after leaving in good standing.", "timestamp": "1498001314"}, {"author": "Neela", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880915775602", "anchor": "fb-880915775602", "service": "fb", "text": "How about J-PAL? They generate a lot of the evidence. They look for more economist types I think but may be some openings?", "timestamp": "1497987814"}, {"author": "Nix", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880917102942", "anchor": "fb-880917102942", "service": "fb", "text": "Any interest in tech-policy work? Jason Matheny had a good talk at EAG Boston on some options and seemed happy to talk to individuals who were interested. Not sure if it would require moving to DC, but worth looking into.", "timestamp": "1497988348"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880917102942&reply_comment_id=880919433272", "anchor": "fb-880917102942_880919433272", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Talk video with automatically generated transcript: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g05om2NJwco...", "timestamp": "1497988791"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880917102942&reply_comment_id=881045256122", "anchor": "fb-880917102942_881045256122", "service": "fb", "text": "→ During the Q&A (not included in the video) Matheny described the work as involving extremely long hours. I'm also not interested in moving to DC or getting a security clearance, so I don't think this would make sense for me.", "timestamp": "1498033542"}, {"author": "Nix", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880917102942&reply_comment_id=881073504512", "anchor": "fb-880917102942_881073504512", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Makes sense!", "timestamp": "1498055718"}, {"author": "Jeannine", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880919243652", "anchor": "fb-880919243652", "service": "fb", "text": "I'm sorry. That must be disappointing. I hope you find something that brings you joy.", "timestamp": "1497988699"}, {"author": "Daniel", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880922751622", "anchor": "fb-880922751622", "service": "fb", "text": "Vincent has a cool job doing software for a biotech startup that's trying to cure cancer. I'd say something in the bioinformatics space would have a great combination of altruistic orientation, interestingness, money, and location.", "timestamp": "1497989951"}, {"author": "Vincent", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880922751622&reply_comment_id=880946214602", "anchor": "fb-880922751622_880946214602", "service": "fb", "text": "→ The average quality of coders in biotech is very low. If you can find a project where the code really matters (as opposed to just being used to do some ad-hoc analysis here and there), I suspect the potential impact is quite high.", "timestamp": "1497994569"}, {"author": "Susi", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880940391272", "anchor": "fb-880940391272", "service": "fb", "text": "Also likely not meeting your requirements, but working for Amazon in the Alexa / Echo universe and we're recruiting...", "timestamp": "1497992250"}, {"author": "Josh", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/118273920476267337216", "anchor": "gp-1497993331968", "service": "gp", "text": "If you might be interested in working in Waltham, I love it at Care.com; depending on what you're interested in, I can see if we've got any suitable spots. (If you're interested in managing a small (three people I think?) IT infrastructure group, we definitely need one of those.)", "timestamp": 1497993331}, {"author": "Benjamin", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232", "anchor": "fb-880953884232", "service": "fb", "text": "Run for office. Maybe something local like town selectman, but anywhere you can make a difference. Or also the Commonwealth\u200b of Mass. is massively expanding/overhauling its IT infrastructure and might have some interesting options.", "timestamp": "1497996379"}, {"author": "George", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232&reply_comment_id=881027576552", "anchor": "fb-880953884232_881027576552", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Great idea! Alternatively, work in politics in some other way.", "timestamp": "1498019490"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232&reply_comment_id=881054482632", "anchor": "fb-880953884232_881054482632", "service": "fb", "text": "→ @Benjamin: I'm not sure running for office is a great fit for me. Two main problems:
(a) I've written a lot about what I think about a lot of things, often quickly, sometimes pretty bluntly. There are a small number of voters who would take this very positively, as a chance to see my views over 10+ years and a get a way better sense of who I am and how I think than you usually get from a politician. But I bet it's pretty easy to find things I've said that (in isolation) look bad, and that's what would filter through to more voters. This probably matters mostly at higher levels?
(b) My current representatives are all good and well liked, all the way up:
Ward 5 Alderman: Mark Niedergang
At-large Aldermen: John M. Connolly, Dennis M. Sullivan, Mary Jo Rossetti, William A. White Jr.
Mayor: Joe Curatone
State Rep: Denise Provost
State Sen: Pat Jalen
House: Michael Capuano
Senate: Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey
(I don't know much about my at-large Aldermen or my State Rep, though)
The 'normal' solution to this is to move to an area with a seat you want to contest, but I don't want to move.", "timestamp": "1498044543"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232&reply_comment_id=881138983292", "anchor": "fb-880953884232_881138983292", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Hmm. Maybe I should actually run for Alderman-at-Large.", "timestamp": "1498082632"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232&reply_comment_id=881138988282", "anchor": "fb-880953884232_881138988282", "service": "fb", "text": "→ http://www.somervillema.gov/.../files/election-calendar.pdf", "timestamp": "1498082644"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232&reply_comment_id=881139023212", "anchor": "fb-880953884232_881139023212", "service": "fb", "text": "→ http://www.somervillema.gov/.../guide-to-run-for-local...", "timestamp": "1498082663"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232&reply_comment_id=881139073112", "anchor": "fb-880953884232_881139073112", "service": "fb", "text": "→ http://www.somervillema.gov/.../candidates-for-municipal...", "timestamp": "1498082669"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232&reply_comment_id=881139322612", "anchor": "fb-880953884232_881139322612", "service": "fb", "text": "→ This Monday is the last day to start the process...", "timestamp": "1498082703"}, {"author": "Zera", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232&reply_comment_id=881143249742", "anchor": "fb-880953884232_881143249742", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Aw, I want to live there so I can vote for you.", "timestamp": "1498084205"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232&reply_comment_id=881180430232", "anchor": "fb-880953884232_881180430232", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Benjamin: follow-up: http://www.jefftk.com/p/should-i-run-for-office", "timestamp": "1498097890"}, {"author": "George", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232&reply_comment_id=881181448192", "anchor": "fb-880953884232_881181448192", "service": "fb", "text": "→ There are many ways to influence politics other than running for office. Consider some of those.", "timestamp": "1498098097"}, {"author": "Benjamin", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880953884232&reply_comment_id=881243543752", "anchor": "fb-880953884232_881243543752", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Without knowing the lift on the paperwork (filing fee?), nor the timeline on the entire election process, it seems like you could fill out the paperwork before Monday's deadline and then decide later after talking to some people who are less full of it than me.", "timestamp": "1498131051"}, {"author": "Jan-Willem", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/100580955183019057735", "anchor": "gp-1497996867080", "service": "gp", "text": "Oof. Google is, as always, hiring. :-)", "timestamp": 1497996867}, {"author": "Andrew", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880956244502", "anchor": "fb-880956244502", "service": "fb", "text": "If they pay well in Africa, consider it an adventure. you only live once.", "timestamp": "1497997097"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880956244502&reply_comment_id=880972746432", "anchor": "fb-880956244502_880972746432", "service": "fb", "text": "→ If I was on my own I would consider it, but with a family it really doesn't make sense", "timestamp": "1498000379"}, {"author": "Andrew", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880956244502&reply_comment_id=880975925062", "anchor": "fb-880956244502_880975925062", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Kids grow up in all parts of the world -- they might be richer in experience than if they spent their childhoods in the gilded cage that's the US.
Where in Africa?", "timestamp": "1498000794"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880956244502&reply_comment_id=880992716412", "anchor": "fb-880956244502_880992716412", "service": "fb", "text": "→ \"Where in Africa?\"
I would have needed to decide without knowing which country: it would have been whichever country they decided to expand to next, and there were many candidates.", "timestamp": "1498006812"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880956244502&reply_comment_id=880993320202", "anchor": "fb-880956244502_880993320202", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Things like malaria, parasites, and lead paint are pretty bad for kids.", "timestamp": "1498006924"}, {"author": "Michael", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880956244502&reply_comment_id=880993614612", "anchor": "fb-880956244502_880993614612", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I could understand the arguments for taking your family someplace like that, but I definitely wouldn't suggest just going for it on a whim. Hell, we backed out of even moving the family to Philadelphia at the last minute because it would take our kids away from family.", "timestamp": "1498007108"}, {"author": "Danner", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880956244502&reply_comment_id=881058225132", "anchor": "fb-880956244502_881058225132", "service": "fb", "text": "→ While the overall suggestion to move there is limited in nature, I do suggest to visit Africa if you haven't already. There are many things I learned that I didn't expect even after decent amounts of research. If your EA endeavors are mostly leading you to assist Africa, going yourself might allow you to understand or make connections that would help.", "timestamp": "1498047971"}, {"author": "Jan-Willem", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/100580955183019057735", "anchor": "gp-1497999802692", "service": "gp", "text": "I'd recommend \nagainst\n doing a Ph.D. just to see what (say) AI is all about. It pretty much violates the 45-hour constraint in the hardest possible way \u2013 and you have to \nreally\n like the work and want the degree.", "timestamp": 1497999802}, {"author": "Ellen", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880994757322", "anchor": "fb-880994757322", "service": "fb", "text": "I'd bet that you will have a number of choices, which I'm very glad about. I hope you find something that fits what you're looking for, and that you really enjoy.", "timestamp": "1498007606"}, {"author": "Todd", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880996114602", "anchor": "fb-880996114602", "service": "fb", "text": "Sorry to hear that! I don't have any great suggestions, but I imagine that returning to Google gives you a very high floor, so I hope that helps make this easier to deal with.", "timestamp": "1498008027"}, {"author": "Jim", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=880999902012", "anchor": "fb-880999902012", "service": "fb", "text": "We're looking for someone to run integrations with mobile payments/CRMs of lenders in East Africa at the moment. Mostly looking in Nairobi and Kigali but we have a team in the US as well. Let me know if you'd like to talk to our CTO.", "timestamp": "1498009739"}, {"author": "Geoffrey", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881025830052", "anchor": "fb-881025830052", "service": "fb", "text": "A twist on returning to Google and trying biotech that you might consider, is that Verily is hiring in Cambridge. You'd get ML experience and be earning to give and working directly on health-related stuff.", "timestamp": "1498018353"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881025830052&reply_comment_id=881044812012", "anchor": "fb-881025830052_881044812012", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Thanks! Are you at Verily or do you know anyone there I could talk to?", "timestamp": "1498032502"}, {"author": "Geoffrey", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881025830052&reply_comment_id=881088105252", "anchor": "fb-881025830052_881088105252", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I'm at Google, and I don't, unfortunately. Your post just made me curious what Google teams were hiring in Cambridge right now (specifically looking for one of the teams that does nonprofit/charity work). My search turned up a lot of Verily results that looked like something you might be interested in.", "timestamp": "1498061302"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881025830052&reply_comment_id=881088644172", "anchor": "fb-881025830052_881088644172", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Ok, thanks for looking! I think my former boss at Google might be able to make me an intro.", "timestamp": "1498061508"}, {"author": "Ben", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881025830052&reply_comment_id=881110126122", "anchor": "fb-881025830052_881110126122", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I have a friend at working at Verily in Mountain View; happy to put you in touch if you want.
(And good luck with the search! I'm curious to see your next move, and I know it'll be something great.)", "timestamp": "1498070258"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881025830052&reply_comment_id=881110515342", "anchor": "fb-881025830052_881110515342", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Thanks Ben! I was able to get an intro to people at Verily in Cambridge through Google ex-coworkers, so I'm all set there for now.", "timestamp": "1498070580"}, {"author": "Asheesh", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881025939832", "anchor": "fb-881025939832", "service": "fb", "text": "Sympathies for the disruption, and I'm looking forward to hearing about the next thing when it happens!", "timestamp": "1498018461"}, {"author": "Sam", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/109837529952216211498", "anchor": "gp-1498018506344", "service": "gp", "text": "If we're really putting all the options up on the board... You might also consider whether you might support real positive change in your community by entering public office. I'm know I'd rather have you in my state legislature than pretty much anyone who's been on the scene in MA/RI - I would value the clarity and sophistication of your evidence-based decision making process over any particular expertise (e.g., legal). But it's an idea with tons of complications. For starts, it'd be a job you didn't take for love of the work, but because you could effect positive change. And estimating that change against other options is very fuzzy and requires, among other things, trying to value a lot of soft benefits (what's the measure for setting a better example of decision making in public policy and shifting slightly the expectations some small group of people have for public servants?).", "timestamp": 1498018506}, {"author": "George", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881026448812", "anchor": "fb-881026448812", "service": "fb", "text": "Please do something more valuable than \"working on AI risk\" if you mean \"superintelligence risk.\" If you mean something else, then perhaps it would be useful, but you should clarify given how the term \"AI risk\" gets used these days.", "timestamp": "1498018677"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881026448812&reply_comment_id=881045171292", "anchor": "fb-881026448812_881045171292", "service": "fb", "text": "→ \"AI risk\" seems to get used to cover everything from technological unemployment to intelligence explosion. The people I respect who are concerned seem to be more in the middle and think of \"Concrete Problems in AI Safety\" [1] as a good paper. (And if you think that's not a good paper that would be really useful for me to know!)
I'm not impressed with the arguments I've seen around explosion, and should write that up.
[1] https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.06565", "timestamp": "1498033294"}, {"author": "George", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881026448812&reply_comment_id=881045365902", "anchor": "fb-881026448812_881045365902", "service": "fb", "text": "→ That paper is fine. I am mildly uncomfortable with framing those five problems as \"risks\" or \"safety\" because things like \"robustness to distributional shift\" seem far more general and many of the 5 items seem like things we would study anyway just to make learning systems effective. I don't know what using the language of danger and risk achieves that is good here. I believe these issues will naturally get studied as they come up in applications.
Things like technological unemployment I would call \"capitalism risks\" not \"AI risks\" (and there are quite a few very bad capitalism risks).
What I believe should be studied a lot more are issues of computational fairness and how to use (or not use) machine learning so we can avoid further entrenching racist, patriarchal, and otherwise oppressive power structures.", "timestamp": "1498034250"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881026448812&reply_comment_id=881045520592", "anchor": "fb-881026448812_881045520592", "service": "fb", "text": "→ George: \"things we would study anyway just to make learning systems effective\" seems pretty key to me. Industry already cares that machine learning systems do what they're supposed to.
In as much as there's something to do here from an EA perspective it would be around mismatched incentives like your example with ML systems reinforcing existing unfairness. Like, there's minimal benefit going into a field to push organizations in the direction of doing things they would do anyway, but potentially much more benefit if the harms of what they would be doing mostly hit others.", "timestamp": "1498034604"}, {"author": "Brian", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881026448812&reply_comment_id=882175451202", "anchor": "fb-881026448812_882175451202", "service": "fb", "text": "→ > I'm not impressed with the arguments I've seen around explosion, and should write that up.
Please do. :) I'd be interested to read that.
> there's minimal benefit going into a field to push organizations in the direction of doing things they would do anyway, but potentially much more benefit if the harms of what they would be doing mostly hit others.
There might also be a situation where the risks are small enough that it's rational for selfish individuals to take them even if they might hurt everyone, like people on Wall Street taking risks that might lead to global financial meltdown.
That said, I agree with the criticism that some of the \"concrete problems\" are part and parcel of machine-learning work.", "timestamp": "1498450156"}, {"author": "Andrew", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881028379942", "anchor": "fb-881028379942", "service": "fb", "text": "Oof. Sorry to hear that. Glad you can approach it as an opportunity, and I'm confident you'll be fine, but still a bummer!", "timestamp": "1498019930"}, {"author": "Mad", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881048334952", "anchor": "fb-881048334952", "service": "fb", "text": "Ah Jeff, I have so much to say!
1. On biotech: I do not recommend this. And I think you can call me expert, as an alum of George Church (who is still my \"boss\", in a sense \u2013 one of them). To put it bluntly, any opinions you have on safety (or other strategic issues) will be piss in the wind.
2. On starting an organization: I think you need to have a vision for something. It needs to be compelling to others (to get funding, adoption, volunteers, etc). It needs to be sufficiently differentiated from existing projects, to avoid engage in a zero sum game with others pursuing highly overlapping goals. (Zero sum games would seem to defeat the purpose.)
3. On something else: I would be a dolt to not raise my voice here and say this. I have a small nonprofit organization and I am also in the \"market\" for a full stack developer.
I became ED of this nonprofit (as of June 1). And it is small (I am currently its only staff). I am funded and can hire 2-3 others, mainly via my Shuttleworth Foundation Fellowship that started March 1. (I have strong leads of hires for the other positions, but nothing for the developer position.) My vision in this fellowship primarily involves building/growing a project/platform/community that might \"win\" and create a new ecosystem for individuals, data, and research. The bones of this project are built, but there is much missing, and large opportunities to do more. My fellowship has the potential to last 3 years (there are annual reviews), and represents more funding (and mentorship) than MacArthur and Thiel fellowships combined.
Here are some links:
* http://www.madeleineball.net/my-application-text-video/
* http://www.madeleineball.net/introducing-myself-as.../
You might decide the thing I'm trying to do is not the most effective place to be, and I'm fine with that. My admiration for you and Julia will not diminish in the slightest. But! You may discover it's quite compelling. (There are others that feel this way.) It is a startup, it is a risk \u2013 it might not succeed \u2013 but the chance that it *might*, and the chance that you were pivotal in this success, may be compelling to you.
(I should add: hiring talent is hard. Very hard for someone small, and obscure, and on their own, with a bit \u2013 but not a ton \u2013 of funding. If you found me someone else to hire, this could also make an enormous difference.)
Sadly, I cannot offer more than remote work. But we might find some alternative to a sterile coworking space. For example, I strongly suspect George would happily give you a place to stay in his lab. And \u2013 voila \u2013 you would have your biotech. (During my time there, George's lab was a diverse and interesting place to be.)
If all that sounds like it has potential, I think we should probably schedule a meeting (or more than one) to explain wtf I'm doing. :)", "timestamp": "1498038607"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881048334952&reply_comment_id=881057062462", "anchor": "fb-881048334952_881057062462", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I'd love to talk more! I'll send you an email.", "timestamp": "1498046907"}, {"author": "Sophia", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881048334952&reply_comment_id=881069806922", "anchor": "fb-881048334952_881069806922", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Just want to say your project sounds incredibly cool!", "timestamp": "1498053803"}, {"author": "Mad", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881048334952&reply_comment_id=881089557342", "anchor": "fb-881048334952_881089557342", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Sophia Thank you! I like to think so too, but I would have to convince Jeff Kaufman that it's a worthwhile investment. \ud83d\ude09", "timestamp": "1498062153"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1498042831061", "service": "gp", "text": "@Jan-Willem\n: \"just to see what (say) AI is all about\"\n
\n
\nSorry, I think \"I should put more time into learning about [AI]\" was confusing. I meant I should put more time into it in the next week or so and get a better sense of whether I think this is a valuable place for me to work, and then if I do change my mind and start thinking it's very valuable I would consider work or research in the field.", "timestamp": 1498042831}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1498044694936", "service": "gp", "text": "@Sam\n I don't think politics is a great fit for me. See my response to Ben: \nhttp://www.jefftk.com/p/whats-next#fb-880876629052_881054482632", "timestamp": 1498044694}, {"author": "Jan-Willem", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/100580955183019057735", "anchor": "gp-1498047464247", "service": "gp", "text": "Makes sense. I think there is ample ground in explainability and bias in AI that is getting very active and well-deserved inquiry, and where more smart people thinking about the problem could really help. I'm personally far more skeptical of \nexistential\n threats (and my skepticism grows as I learn more about the shape of current inquiry).", "timestamp": 1498047464}, {"author": "Daniel", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881063764032", "anchor": "fb-881063764032", "service": "fb", "text": "This is just about the most positive reaction to being laid off that I've seen. I'm glad you have so many opportunities. Under other circumstances, I'd try to help with referrals, but I think you have plenty of connections. You are more in search of ways to narrow the field of possibilities to the best ones, than expand your list of options, so good luck!", "timestamp": "1498050378"}, {"author": "Jonathan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881068534472", "anchor": "fb-881068534472", "service": "fb", "text": "Do you have any interest in the EHR / EMR space?", "timestamp": "1498053230"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881068534472&reply_comment_id=881068818902", "anchor": "fb-881068534472_881068818902", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I don't think so? Except maybe if it was in figuring out ways to use the data from lots of people's medical records to do something valuable, in a way that didn't match up well with existing incentives?", "timestamp": "1498053306"}, {"author": "Jonathan", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881068534472&reply_comment_id=881069437662", "anchor": "fb-881068534472_881069437662", "service": "fb", "text": "→ That's part of the bigger issue. Although maybe it's more of a societal challenge in that we value personal privacy over general population health. Epic is the largest player, more than 75% market share. Software is very expensive initially and has high maintenance costs annually, and takes a long time to configure and implement. Drives up healthcare costs for everyone. Space is very ripe for disruption to make something that's interoperable. It's actually the reason I heard the Department of Defense chose center, Epic's inability to play well with others.", "timestamp": "1498053621"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881068534472&reply_comment_id=881072197132", "anchor": "fb-881068534472_881072197132", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I'm not sure I'd say \"ripe for disruption\". It's not a situation where a new entrant with a highly automated cheap 80% solution can make headway. Selling to big companies is slow and highly custom, as is health in general.", "timestamp": "1498054702"}, {"author": "Mad", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881068534472&reply_comment_id=881092002442", "anchor": "fb-881068534472_881092002442", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Again, semi-expert on this, and I don't recommend it. There's a lot of money and ideas put into this space already. This article provides sobering context \u2013 https://www.inc.com/.../healthcare-disruption-never...
IMHO we need to wait for meaningful use stage 3 (APIs!!!1!!eleven) then maaaaybe it won't be so shitty. (I believe APIs should enable escape from HIPAA, among other things. And hopefully reify the \"P\", which actually stands for \"portability\", not \"privacy\".)", "timestamp": "1498063470"}, {"author": "Mad", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881068534472&reply_comment_id=881092097252", "anchor": "fb-881068534472_881092097252", "service": "fb", "text": "→ (Also, the healthcare space in the US is a very uniquely US phenomenon, and that limits impact.)", "timestamp": "1498063519"}, {"author": "Tim", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881092576292", "anchor": "fb-881092576292", "service": "fb", "text": "TransferWise is hiring developers in New York, London, Tallinn and Budapest I daresay we have a similar mission to Wave. DM if you want some more info.", "timestamp": "1498063923"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881092576292&reply_comment_id=881095854722", "anchor": "fb-881092576292_881095854722", "service": "fb", "text": "→ It looks like TransferWise does international transfers? I was excited about working at Wave for mobile money.
(I'm also not interested in remote work or leaving Boston)", "timestamp": "1498065107"}, {"author": "Daniel", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881092576292&reply_comment_id=882230575732", "anchor": "fb-881092576292_882230575732", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I don't know anything about jobs there, but I love TransferWise. I've had a bit more occasion recently to send/receive money internationally, and I think they're the best around. I don't know if they support domestic, same-currency transactions at all, though. It certainly doesn't seem to be their main mission.", "timestamp": "1498482526"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1498098023879", "service": "gp", "text": "@Sam\n\u200b actually I'm less sure about politics; follow-up: \nhttp://www.jefftk.com/p/should-i-run-for-office", "timestamp": 1498098023}, {"author": "Gavin", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881356692002", "anchor": "fb-881356692002", "service": "fb", "text": "Perhaps you could finance this gap by selling some of your strategic mercury reserves?", "timestamp": "1498172094"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881356692002&reply_comment_id=881372565192", "anchor": "fb-881356692002_881372565192", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Strategic mercury reserves would have negative value", "timestamp": "1498179185"}, {"author": "Katriel", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/880876629052?comment_id=881769814102", "anchor": "fb-881769814102", "service": "fb", "text": "Even though your attitude is so constructive, I can imagine it must be pretty disconcerting. Tried for a while but can't think of any great ideas others haven't expressed. Trying to imagine something outside the mold of other suggestions: Have you considered roles where you might set yourself as an independent consultant for supporting small, possibly effective organizations that need support for one-off technical projects (and where you could influence them towards more evidence-based and cost-effectiveness guided) thinking?", "timestamp": "1498302538"}]}