Vincent Luczkow

Counterfactual impact minimization

Vincent Luczkow is an MSc student at Mila, soon to start a PhD in AI, interested in conducting research on AI safety. This grant is for a research project on counterfactual impact minimization. We anticipate Vincent spending it in part on attending conferences, and in part on freeing up time for this research project (for example, by not needing to TA supplement his income).

My experience interacting with US PhD students suggests many students are less productive due to financial constraints, especially those without savings or other income sources. Mila seems to have below-average stipends, of between 25,000 and 30,000 CAD (~18,000 to 21,500 USD). By contrast, US universities typically offer a package of at least 40,000 USD/year. While Montreal has lower costs of living, overall we find it likely that a student at MILA would benefit from supplemental funding.

Since Vincent is an early-stage researcher, he has a limited track record to evaluate, making this a slightly risky grant. However, getting into MILA (one of the leading AI labs) is a strong signal, and referees spoke positively about his motivation. Since we view there being little downside risk (beyond the opportunity cost of the donation) and a significant chance of a larger upside at little cost, we decided to make the grant.