At the local AI safety co-working space, there are ~two kinds of regulars.

There's the kind of regular who's been thinking seriously about AI safety and alignment since pre-2022, who have passing to intimate familiarity with the funding ecosystem, the Sequences, and various conferences that happen at Lighthaven. Let's call them rationalists.

Then there's the kind of regular who comes in with many years of impressive industry or government experience, who realized in the last few years that it is important and worthwhile to pivot their career towards making sure that this AI thing is handled competently by the people in power, and who have many valuable skills, insights, and connections that are lacking in rationalist culture. Let's call them professionals.

There are, of course, many people who are somewhere in between - bright undergrads born this millennium who have been involved in EA since stumbling upon 80 thousand hours in high school, professionals who previously identified as EA but drifted out of the scene a few years ago, founders who have idly read some Scott Alexander. But let's call it a dichotomy for now.

There's a large culture gap between the rationalists and the professionals. Robust mutual understanding [...]

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First published:
August 24th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/cr5pyW7Mzm33p4AvN/ai-safety-acculturation-is-neglected

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

“AI Safety Acculturation is Neglected” by jenn

LessWrong (30+ Karma)

“AI Safety Acculturation is Neglected” by jenn