Fields Medalist Jacob Tsimerman leaves the University of Toronto and joins OpenAI, where he will work on AI safety.
In a recent paper, Tsimerman examines scenarios in which AI could contribute to the extinction of humanity, and calls for substantially increasing investments in safety research.
The significance of the transition is that a researcher who publicly analyzed the most severe AI risks will now work on safety inside OpenAI. At the same time, the available data is presented as a brief synopsis of the publication, not a full article or a confirmation from the company.
editorial commentary
Why it matters
A probable consequence — strengthening the link between academic analysis of long-term risks and practical safety research at OpenAI. The next observed signal will be an official description of his role or publication of details about the work. Substantial uncertainty remains: information is based on one independent material and its metadata, without primary confirmation.