Center for AI Policy

The Center for AI Policy is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit designed to influence US policy to reduce existential and catastrophic risks from advanced AI (source).

They are serious about x-risk and well-aligned with my position:

Our current focus is building “stop button for AI” capacity in the US government.

Unlike some other orgs, it’s not bogged down by playing politics. For example, it’s willing to call out Sam Altman’s bad behavior; and it focuses on conducting advocacy now, rather than amassing influence that can be used later (I’m generally averse to power-seeking).

The org has proposed model legislation that makes some non-trivial policy proposals (see summary pdf and full text pdf. The legislation would:

• require the customers buying $30,000 advanced AI chips to fill out a one-page registration form;
• issue permits to the most advanced AI systems based on the quality of their safety testing;
• define a reasonable set of emergency powers for the government so that they can intervene and shut down an AI system that’s in the process of going rogue.

This is a breath of fresh air compared to most of the policy proposals I’ve read (none of which I’ve discussed yet, because I’m writing this list in alphabetical order). Most proposals say things like:

• make the regulation be good instead of bad;
• simultaneously promote innovation and safety (there is no such thing as a tradeoff);
• sternly tell AI companies that they need to not be unsafe, or else we will be very upset.

I’m paraphrasing for humor, but I don’t think I’m exaggerating—I’ve read proposals from AI policy orgs that were equivalent to these, but phrased more opaquely. (Like nobody explicitly said “we refuse to acknowledge the existence of tradeoffs”, but they did, in fact, refuse to acknowledge the existence of tradeoffs.)

Center for AI Policy has a target budget of $1.6 million for 2025 (source), and its current funding falls considerably short of this goal, so it can make good use of additional money.

#3: Center for AI Policy

This is one of only three orgs (along with Palisade and PauseAI US) that meet four criteria:

• works to persuade policy-makers
• focuses on AI x-risk over other less-important AI safety concerns
• focuses on United States policy
• is funding-constrained

I’m nearly indifferent between Center for AI Policy and Palisade. I slightly prefer the former because (1) its employees have more experience in politics and (2) its mission/messaging seems less palatable to institutional funders so I expect it to have a harder time raising money.