A note from JueYan Zhang, who recommended this grant:

J is a PhD student at a top US university whose work has already been cited in by the UK DSIT (Department of Science, Innovation, & Technology) in discussion papers prepared for the UK AI Safety Summit. J was offered a temporary role at DSIT, to:

1) provide technical expertise

2) learn about and test his fit for the AI policy space

However, moving to the UK is quite costly:

1) frictions involving pre-employment checks means J won’t get paid for at least 1.5 months after arriving in the UK

2) J’s airfare isn’t covered by his new employer

3) J must sublet his existing housing, which imperfectly covers his rent

4) London is expensive

J was referred to me by a trusted DSIT affiliate who I had previously worked with on secondments, and J has co-authored papers with multiple folks I trust. I found that these financial issues were credible blockers (or extreme anxiety increasers) to J taking on this impactful role at the UK DSIT.

I am thus happy to recommend this grant to J, as part of my support for secondments and related programs, and believe that the UK DSIT is a key institution in this space. In addition, this grant is high leverage, as J’s pay is funded by the UK DSIT.