Call me Oliver or Oly—I don’t mind which.
I’m particularly interested in sustainable collaboration and the long-term future of value. I’d love to contribute to a safer and more prosperous future with AI! Always interested in discussions about axiology, x-risks, s-risks.
I’m currently (2023) embarking on a PhD in AI in Oxford (Hertford College), and also spend time in (or in easy reach of) London. Until recently I was working as a senior data scientist and software engineer, and doing occasional AI alignment research with SERI.
I enjoy meeting new perspectives and growing my understanding of the world and the people in it. I also love to read—let me know your suggestions! In no particular order, here are some I’ve enjoyed recently
Ord—The Precipice
Pearl—The Book of Why
Bostrom—Superintelligence
McCall Smith—The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (and series)
Melville—Moby-Dick
Abelson & Sussman—Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
Stross—Accelerando
Graeme—The Rosie Project (and trilogy)
Cooperative gaming is a relatively recent but fruitful interest for me. Here are some of my favourites
Hanabi (can’t recommend enough; try it out!)
Pandemic (ironic at time of writing...)
Dungeons and Dragons (I DM a bit and it keeps me on my creative toes)
Overcooked (my partner and I enjoy the foody themes and frantic realtime coordination playing this)
People who’ve got to know me only recently are sometimes surprised to learn that I’m a pretty handy trumpeter and hornist.
Incidentally I noticed Yudkowsky uses ‘brainware’ in a few places (e.g. in conversation with Paul Christiano). But it looks like that’s referring to something more analogous to ‘architecture and learning algorithms’, which I’d put more in the ‘software’ camp when in comes to the taxonomy I’m pointing at (the ‘outer designer’ is writing it deliberately).