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Oliver Sourbut

Karma: 799

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

Cooperative gaming is a relatively recent but fruitful interest for me. Here are some of my favourites

People who’ve got to know me only recently are sometimes surprised to learn that I’m a pretty handy trumpeter and hornist.

[Question] Ter­minol­ogy: <some­thing>-ware for ML?

Oliver Sourbut3 Jan 2024 11:42 UTC
17 points
27 comments1 min readLW link

Align­ment, con­flict, powerseeking

Oliver Sourbut22 Nov 2023 9:47 UTC
6 points
1 comment1 min readLW link

Care­less talk on US-China AI com­pe­ti­tion? (and crit­i­cism of CAIS cov­er­age)

Oliver Sourbut20 Sep 2023 12:46 UTC
3 points
0 comments10 min readLW link
(www.oliversourbut.net)

In­vad­ing Aus­tralia (End­less Former­lies Most Beau­tiful, or What I Learned On My Holi­day)

Oliver Sourbut8 Sep 2023 15:33 UTC
12 points
1 comment8 min readLW link
(www.oliversourbut.net)

Hert­ford, Sour­but (ra­tio­nal­ity les­sons from Univer­sity Challenge)

Oliver Sourbut4 Sep 2023 18:44 UTC
28 points
7 comments14 min readLW link
(www.oliversourbut.net)

Un-un­plug­ga­bil­ity—can’t we just un­plug it?

Oliver Sourbut15 May 2023 13:23 UTC
26 points
10 comments12 min readLW link
(www.oliversourbut.net)

Oliver Sour­but’s Shortform

Oliver Sourbut14 Jul 2022 15:39 UTC
4 points
1 comment1 min readLW link

De­liber­a­tion Every­where: Sim­ple Examples

Oliver Sourbut27 Jun 2022 17:26 UTC
17 points
3 comments15 min readLW link

De­liber­a­tion, Re­ac­tions, and Con­trol: Ten­ta­tive Defi­ni­tions and a Res­tate­ment of In­stru­men­tal Convergence

Oliver Sourbut27 Jun 2022 17:25 UTC
11 points
0 comments11 min readLW link

Fea­ture re­quest: vot­ing but­tons at the bot­tom?

Oliver Sourbut24 Jun 2022 14:41 UTC
70 points
12 comments1 min readLW link

Break­ing Down Goal-Directed Behaviour

Oliver Sourbut16 Jun 2022 18:45 UTC
11 points
1 comment2 min readLW link

You Only Get One Shot: an In­tu­ition Pump for Embed­ded Agency

Oliver Sourbut9 Jun 2022 21:38 UTC
23 points
4 comments2 min readLW link

Gato’s Gen­er­al­i­sa­tion: Pre­dic­tions and Ex­per­i­ments I’d Like to See

Oliver Sourbut18 May 2022 7:15 UTC
43 points
3 comments10 min readLW link

Con­di­tions for math­e­mat­i­cal equiv­alence of Stochas­tic Gra­di­ent Des­cent and Nat­u­ral Selection

Oliver Sourbut9 May 2022 21:38 UTC
61 points
19 comments8 min readLW link1 review
(www.oliversourbut.net)

Mo­ti­va­tions, Nat­u­ral Selec­tion, and Cur­ricu­lum Engineering

Oliver Sourbut16 Dec 2021 1:07 UTC
16 points
0 comments42 min readLW link

Some real ex­am­ples of gra­di­ent hacking

Oliver Sourbut22 Nov 2021 0:11 UTC
15 points
8 comments2 min readLW link