{"id":96236,"date":"2026-04-27T17:19:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T17:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/?p=96236"},"modified":"2026-04-27T17:19:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T17:19:27","slug":"ai-safety-needs-more-than-engineers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/80000hours.org\/2026\/04\/ai-safety-needs-more-than-engineers\/","title":{"rendered":"AI safety needs more than engineers"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s a lot of important work in AI safety that doesn’t require technical skills.<\/p>\n

When I (Avital) first read about AI safety work, I assumed there wasn’t anything I could do. I was a writer and researcher who liked talking to people, and I thought the field only needed technical talent and money, neither of which I’d be able to provide.<\/p>\n

So instead, I went to grad school for medieval history.<\/p>\n

Of course, a lot of AI safety work is<\/em> technical, and I knew I’d have a better shot if I could learn those skills. Unfortunately, it wasn’t how my brain worked. But as I got to know more people in the field, it became clear that my own skills could actually be useful. Technical AI safety organisations do much more than produce research: they hire people, run events, raise money, and share their ideas with the outside world. None of this requires linear algebra.<\/p>\n

Some of the most important roles in AI safety are non-technical. In fact, I’ve met people who used to have technical roles, but now focus on communications, policy, fieldbuilding, or operations because they think those are genuinely more needed right now.<\/p>\n

So what should you do if you want to try working in AI safety, but your talents don’t lie in a technical domain? First, think expansively about what you’re good at.<\/p>\n