The Nonlinear Library EA - On-Ramps for Biosecurity - A Model by Sofya Lebedeva
Dec 14, 2023
06:12
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: On-Ramps for Biosecurity - A Model, published by Sofya Lebedeva on December 14, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum.
Thank you to the following people for reviewing: @Lin BL @Tessa @Max Görlitz @Gregory Lewis @James Smith, Sandy Hickson & @Alix Pham
TL:DR
Getting a full-time role in biosecurity is hard
Seeing a path to get there can be even harder
I propose a model to think about on-ramps into biosecurity & provide a few use cases for it depending on the background you are coming in with.
I provide an overview of how different organisations in this space fit into the model.
If you are an undergrad start here.
A common problem
When I first heard about biosecurity I was excited by the
80,000 hours podcast and impressed by the work of Kevin Esvelt, RAND and NTI. Even though I was studying molecular biology, a seemingly relevant subject I couldn't see a way for me to get involved and to find a full-time role in this field. The gap between hearing about biosecurity and working full-time in biosecurity felt huge.
Figure 1: The gap between hearing about biosecurity and working full-time in the field.
A proposed on-ramp model
Through my experiences with reading groups, UC Berkeley EA, SERI BITS and now the Oxford Biosecurity Group I have found that working on short, object-level, scalable projects fills this gap. And since I get questions of how to fill the gap from others new to the field I made a model to explain my thoughts.
Figure 2: Proposed model for On-Ramps into Biosecurity.
Using the model
Below I outline some touch points that people have with various organisations in the biosecurity space. It's important to note that this model is not always linear. It's important to question your assumptions at every stage and the "stages" themselves can be more fluid.
Hear about it (0 - 10 hours)
This stage can be passive or active depending on your timeline. Note that a lot of the 'hear about it' resources can also be 'learn about it' resources if they are used for more in-depth research at a later stage.
80,000 Hours
EA Forum (hehe)
GCBR Organization Updates Newsletter
Biosecurity newsletters you should subscribe to
University Groups
Your local EA Group
Learn about it (10 - 40 hours)
This stage usually takes around 1-2 months and is more passive.
List of Short-Term (<15 hours) Biosecurity Projects to Test Your Fit
Reading groups at your university
Reading groups at your local EA Group
Find peers (at a similar career stage to you and you can exchange ideas with)
Find mentors (who can help you deliberate between next steps in your career)
Find experts (who can help you deliberate on technical differences between projects and provide insights into specific sub-fields)
Taking to relevant people in the field, building a network
BlueDot Impact
Biosecurity Fundamentals
Project Work (40 - 100 hours)
This stage usually takes around 2-3 months and is more active. You are encouraged to continue building out your network of peers, mentors and experts and possibly to form your working group to think about these concepts. However my suggestion would be to do project work as a part of some formal group/institution if possible, to make sure that you work on something valuable.
Biosecurity Working Groups
Oxford Biosecurity Group
Wisconsin Biosecurity Initiative
Cambridge Biosecurity Group (contact:
sggh2@cam.ac.uk)
Nordic Biosecurity Group (contact: Johan Täng)
Next Generation for Biosecurity Competition
BlueDot Impact
Biosecurity Fundamentals (second part of the course)
Mentorship Programs
Magnify Mentoring
IFBA Global Mentorship Program
UNODA Biosecurity Diplomacy Workshops
Short-term, full-time fellowships
Stanford Existential Risks Initiative (SERI)
Existential Risk Alliance (ERA) Cambridge Fellowship
Swiss Existential Risk Initiative (CHERI)
Full-Time Work (100 hours +)
A more extensiv...
Thank you to the following people for reviewing: @Lin BL @Tessa @Max Görlitz @Gregory Lewis @James Smith, Sandy Hickson & @Alix Pham
TL:DR
Getting a full-time role in biosecurity is hard
Seeing a path to get there can be even harder
I propose a model to think about on-ramps into biosecurity & provide a few use cases for it depending on the background you are coming in with.
I provide an overview of how different organisations in this space fit into the model.
If you are an undergrad start here.
A common problem
When I first heard about biosecurity I was excited by the
80,000 hours podcast and impressed by the work of Kevin Esvelt, RAND and NTI. Even though I was studying molecular biology, a seemingly relevant subject I couldn't see a way for me to get involved and to find a full-time role in this field. The gap between hearing about biosecurity and working full-time in biosecurity felt huge.
Figure 1: The gap between hearing about biosecurity and working full-time in the field.
A proposed on-ramp model
Through my experiences with reading groups, UC Berkeley EA, SERI BITS and now the Oxford Biosecurity Group I have found that working on short, object-level, scalable projects fills this gap. And since I get questions of how to fill the gap from others new to the field I made a model to explain my thoughts.
Figure 2: Proposed model for On-Ramps into Biosecurity.
Using the model
Below I outline some touch points that people have with various organisations in the biosecurity space. It's important to note that this model is not always linear. It's important to question your assumptions at every stage and the "stages" themselves can be more fluid.
Hear about it (0 - 10 hours)
This stage can be passive or active depending on your timeline. Note that a lot of the 'hear about it' resources can also be 'learn about it' resources if they are used for more in-depth research at a later stage.
80,000 Hours
EA Forum (hehe)
GCBR Organization Updates Newsletter
Biosecurity newsletters you should subscribe to
University Groups
Your local EA Group
Learn about it (10 - 40 hours)
This stage usually takes around 1-2 months and is more passive.
List of Short-Term (<15 hours) Biosecurity Projects to Test Your Fit
Reading groups at your university
Reading groups at your local EA Group
Find peers (at a similar career stage to you and you can exchange ideas with)
Find mentors (who can help you deliberate between next steps in your career)
Find experts (who can help you deliberate on technical differences between projects and provide insights into specific sub-fields)
Taking to relevant people in the field, building a network
BlueDot Impact
Biosecurity Fundamentals
Project Work (40 - 100 hours)
This stage usually takes around 2-3 months and is more active. You are encouraged to continue building out your network of peers, mentors and experts and possibly to form your working group to think about these concepts. However my suggestion would be to do project work as a part of some formal group/institution if possible, to make sure that you work on something valuable.
Biosecurity Working Groups
Oxford Biosecurity Group
Wisconsin Biosecurity Initiative
Cambridge Biosecurity Group (contact:
sggh2@cam.ac.uk)
Nordic Biosecurity Group (contact: Johan Täng)
Next Generation for Biosecurity Competition
BlueDot Impact
Biosecurity Fundamentals (second part of the course)
Mentorship Programs
Magnify Mentoring
IFBA Global Mentorship Program
UNODA Biosecurity Diplomacy Workshops
Short-term, full-time fellowships
Stanford Existential Risks Initiative (SERI)
Existential Risk Alliance (ERA) Cambridge Fellowship
Swiss Existential Risk Initiative (CHERI)
Full-Time Work (100 hours +)
A more extensiv...