Do you want to learn about AI Governance?

Join us for 48 hours of fun, focused and collaborative research into the field of AI governance! There are immense opportunities and risks with artificial intelligence - in this hackathon, we focus on how we can mitigate and secure against the most severe risks using strategic frameworks for AI governance.

Some of these risks include labour displacement, inequality, an oligopolistic global market structure, reinforced totalitarianism, shifts and volatility in national power, strategic instability, and an AI race that sacrifices safety and other values.

We're a local jam site in Budapest, together with London, Michigan, Oxford, Toronto, Fulbright University Vietnam, Paris etc. Our location is near Astoria in Budapest (we will send you the exact address after signing up)!
You are encouraged to join by yourself (we will put you in a group with others) or with a team!

We will have free food at the event

Who is this hackathon for?

You can join without any experience as we'll share some amazing starter resources - AI governance is very interdisciplinary so whatever you can bring will likely be valuable. Economics, statistics, general research skills, comp sci/machine learning/programming, knowledge of current and global affairs, risk management, design/presentation skills... We'll make use of whatever you bring! While this is a "hackathon" not everybody needs to be a programmer and technical math/coding stuff may only make up a small or large part of it depending what team we assemble

Similarly, if the topic of AI governance seems confusing or daunting, come anyway! It feels like that for everyone, even those making a career in this space

What will I get out of this event?
-kickstart a career or passion in AI governance or safety
-make a bunch of connections in Budapest and around the world
-maybe make the world safer and help safeguard human rights for everybody
-lots of fun and banter

Schedule:
Friday: 4 PM to 9 PM. We will start with some fun socialising and an online, live introductory talk by an expert. You will get to know your group members, choose and plan your project and maybe even get started working already!

Saturday: 9 am - 10 am Breakfast, orientation, getting started
10 am - 2 pm Coworking on your project with your team, with (optional) check-ins from local organisers to support attendees
2 pm - 3 pm - Lunch
3 pm to 7 pm - Coworking with your team (Apart Research also holds online office hours between 4:30 pm and 5:20 pm, where you have the option to join discussions about your project and how you can improve it!)
7 pm to 8 pm - Dinner, socialising (During this time Apart Research also holds an optional project discussion session online, where teams can send in their projects for a mid-session live review!)
8 pm to 9 pm - Coworking on your project with your team, planning for Sunday and wrapping up for the day

Sunday: 9 am - 10 am Breakfast, orientation, getting started
10 am - 2 pm Coworking on your project with your team, with (optional) check-ins from local organisers to support attendees
2 pm - 3 pm - Lunch
3 pm - 8 pm - Coworking on your project with your team, finalising projects for submission towards the end
8 pm to 9 pm - Dinner, celebration event
There is a prize pool of $2000 up for grabs for the best projects along with a random participation award of $200!

You can join from start to finish, but can also come by for a few hours as well!

Sign up here by 11:59 PM 18th March (in whatever timezone you are in):
https://forms.gle/tQFd8bnJpBPX97vX9

Frequently asked questions:

Is the event free to attend, or are there any costs?
-The event is completely free to attend, including food and drinks.

Do I need to come for the entire weekend?
-No. In the sign-up form you can indicate your availability, and we will match you with people who can commit the same amount as you
-You can also participate in the event online! We're not sure if we can get a hybrid team to work effectively but you'll be able to find other people online or work solo

What physical objects should I bring?
-yourself (unless participating online)
-computer
-charger for the computer
-phone (I'll give people my number in case you have trouble getting into the building)

To learn more, visit the Alignment Jam website: https://alignmentjam.com/