Open Thread 428
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This is the weekly visible open thread. Post about anything you want, ask random questions, whatever. ACX has an unofficial subreddit, Discord, and bulletin board, and in-person meetups around the world. Most content is free, some is subscriber only; you can subscribe here. Also:
1: Late additions to spring meetup list: San Francisco, Belo Horizonte, Birmingham, Columbus, Hobart, Hyderabad, Madrid.
2: New subscribers only post - The Pause AI Protest: A Photo-Essay:
Starting at Anthropic, we marched thirty minutes to OpenAI, then another forty to X. A friendly and professional police escort allowed us to walk down the street. As we marched, David led us in chants and slogans. I remember “1…2…3…4…Orwell told us what’s in store” and “5….6….7….8…no AI surveillance state.” Someone tried to start a chant of “You will not replace us!” but was shushed by the other attendees.
Some people in the comments accused me of “doxxing” the companies by mentioning the location of their headquarters. I take this accusation seriously, but their headquarters are on Google Maps and in the information box on the top of their Wikipedia page, so I think this is past the point where I have an obligation not to mention it.
3: ETA for next ACX Grants round is provisionally next winter, but this year I’ll be helping evaluate grants for the Survival and Flourishing Fund, an EA-aligned group associated with billionaire investor Jaan Tallinn which looks for “projects that are trying to support humanity’s long-term survival and flourishing”. In recent rounds, they’ve focused on making AI go well, including technical safety, policy, and maintaining freedom and fairness through the AI transition. They’ll probably continue this agenda for their main track, but they’re now also trying out auxiliary tracks focusing on animal welfare, climate change, and human self-enhancement. See here for more information or to apply. Deadline is April 22 for the round I’m helping with, or later this summer for the auxiliary tracks or other rounds.
4: A message from Coefficient Giving (formerly Open Philanthropy):
Our Biosecurity and Pandemic Preparedness team has launched a request for proposals. Advances in AI and biotechnology are accelerating fast, and the window to reduce catastrophic risks from engineered biological threats may be short. In response, we are aiming to quickly and significantly expand our grantmaking. Our biosecurity team has awarded hundreds of millions in grants to date, and we expect to direct >$100 million this year. In this RFP, we’re particularly excited about proposals focused on transmission suppression (e.g., PPE and clean air), AIxBio, biosecurity policy, and field-building efforts to grow the talent pipeline, though we’re also open to strong ideas outside these areas. To make it easy to apply, we’re starting with very simple expressions of interest (≤500 words). Applications will be open until May 11 2026 at 11:59pm PT. We’re eager to support ambitious new ideas, new teams, and to grow the field—if you think your work might be relevant, we strongly encourage you to apply here.
5: I owe Nikita Sokolsky a favor for helping me with sun miracle research, and he’s asked me to advertise his dating app photo business, getdatingphotos.com:
Most advice in this space is vague. I care about outcomes you can actually measure. Most photographers optimize for their portfolio. I optimize for dating app performance. I publish my full methodology on Substack for free. If you want someone to run the whole process end-to-end, that is where I come in.
6: ACX grantee Spartacus asks me to advertise that they’re looking for a developer:
Spartacus.app is urgently seeking a freelance TypeScript/Next.js/Supabase developer. Spartacus is a live platform for conditional-commitment collective action, with successful pilots involving unions and AI safety organizations. Our primary developer departed unexpectedly, and we need someone to pick up active development immediately. This is a remote, project-based contract with negotiable compensation plus possible revenue sharing (tools reimbursed). Strong TypeScript/Next.js/Supabase skills, along with fluency in AI coding tools (Claude Code, Cursor), are required. Detailed role requirements here. Reach out to jordan@spartacus.app