Everything you might want to know before applying to an ML4Good bootcamp.
The bootcamp is free! Food, accommodation and teaching is all provided at no cost to the participant. Travel costs can be reimbursed if that would otherwise stop you from attending.
English
There are short breaks throughout the day, and evenings are free. However, the course is intensive, so don't plan on having time to do anything else during the bootcamp.
We expect participants to have some familiarity of the major risks from AI (e.g. misuse from bad actors, extinction risks) and a rough overview of some proposed solutions. We provide a prerequisite reading list to ensure everybody has the same base knowledge to make the most out of the camp.
For the technical bootcamp, you need some coding experience.
All coding is done in Python. We assume you have enough familiarity to work through the introductory PyTorch tutorials, Inspect tutorials, and the OpenAI/Claude tutorials for their APIs.
For the governance and strategy bootcamp, you need no coding experience.
For the technical bootcamp, we assume you have enough understanding of differentiation and linear algebra to understand how a neural network works.
For the governance and strategy bootcamp, you need no mathematical and machine learning knowledge to apply.
For both bootcamps, we provide a prerequisite reading list to ensure everybody has a shared foundation of basic knowledge to make the most out of the camp.
No.
Our technical bootcamp covers some of the same foundational topics as ARENA, but the overlap is limited. We focus more on developing a strong contextual understanding of the AI Safety landscape, understanding capabilities and risks, and building the knowledge and motivation to build a career in AI Safety. The programme also includes a two-day independent project, career planning discussions, and sessions to develop your personal theory of change.
Our governance and strategy bootcamp has even less overlap with ARENA, focusing instead on policy, strategy, governance, and other non-technical approaches to reducing AI-related risks.
Yes. If you're available for multiple dates, or you're unsure whether you'd prefer a technical or governance & strategy bootcamp, you can apply for as many bootcamps as you like.
The ideal candidate is somebody who wants and is committed to contributing to AI safety in a substantial way, whether full-time as a job, as a component of their current work, or as a side project in their spare time.
AI is going to impact all parts of society and will require expertise from all fields, so there is no single profile that we are looking for.