Task: Suggest how to prioritize different tasks given a research goal
Context: When considering an open-ended research topic, it can be hard to identify the most important areas. In many situations, some considerations are vastly more important than others. In order to use researcher time more efficiently, it is helpful to identify which parts of a research project are most important.
Input type: A description of a broad research topic and sub-questions being considered for that topic.
Output type: An ordering of research questions by priority with justification.
Instance 1
Input: A study of different existential risks. How dangerous are asteroid impacts? How dangerous are cosmic rays? How dangerous are hurricanes? How dangerous is AI?
Output:
How dangerous is AI? This is likely to be a near-term problem and should be researched first.
How dangerous are asteroids? Asteroid impacts are unlikely, but could pose an existential risk.
How dangerous are cosmic rays? Large cosmic ray bursts are exceedingly unlikely, but could pose an existential risk.
How dangerous are hurricanes? Hurricanes occur regularly, are well studied, and do not pose an existential risk.
Instance 2
Input: Major causes of obesity. Effect of environmental contaminants, changing music tastes, higher spending on food, changes in sugar consumption.
Output:
Environmental contaminants may play a role in the obesity epidemic, and this possibility has not been explored much in the literature.
Higher food spending due to economic growth may explain rising obesity, and there is some research to suggest this is the case.
Sugar consumption has fallen in recent decades despite rising obesity, but may explain some of the trend.
Changing music tastes are unlikely to be connected to obesity.
Task: Suggest how to prioritize different tasks given a research goal
Context: When considering an open-ended research topic, it can be hard to identify the most important areas. In many situations, some considerations are vastly more important than others. In order to use researcher time more efficiently, it is helpful to identify which parts of a research project are most important.
Input type: A description of a broad research topic and sub-questions being considered for that topic.
Output type: An ordering of research questions by priority with justification.
Instance 1
Input: A study of different existential risks. How dangerous are asteroid impacts? How dangerous are cosmic rays? How dangerous are hurricanes? How dangerous is AI?
Output:
How dangerous is AI? This is likely to be a near-term problem and should be researched first.
How dangerous are asteroids? Asteroid impacts are unlikely, but could pose an existential risk.
How dangerous are cosmic rays? Large cosmic ray bursts are exceedingly unlikely, but could pose an existential risk.
How dangerous are hurricanes? Hurricanes occur regularly, are well studied, and do not pose an existential risk.
Instance 2
Input: Major causes of obesity. Effect of environmental contaminants, changing music tastes, higher spending on food, changes in sugar consumption.
Output:
Environmental contaminants may play a role in the obesity epidemic, and this possibility has not been explored much in the literature.
Higher food spending due to economic growth may explain rising obesity, and there is some research to suggest this is the case.
Sugar consumption has fallen in recent decades despite rising obesity, but may explain some of the trend.
Changing music tastes are unlikely to be connected to obesity.
Potentially interesting task, would prefer examples in the AI alignment domain.