AI compute governance with Lennart Heim

Lennart has a background in electrical engineering and is a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Governance of AI.

In this episode

What is AI governance and where does it fit in with AI safety
Lennart’s journey into AI governance
US export controls on AI chips and recent developments in the AI landscape
The AI production function
AI compute chip supply chain
AI policy and US concerns around China having access to cutting-edge AI technology
Potential ways do AI governance through controlling or monitoring access to AI compute
What types of engineers are needed in the field
How people can enter the AI governances field

Full show notes: http://engineeredforimpact.show/lennart

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yK5odT1jz-U

Timestamps

(00:00:07) Intro

(00:01:28) Lennart's intro

(00:02:02) Why do we care about AI safety

(00:03:22) Lennart's journey to working on AI governance

(00:09:59) Recent developments in AI

(00:14:11) AI production function

(00:16:41) AI supply chain and US restrictions

(00:20:07) Examples of compute as a governance mechanism

(00:26:12) Why the US is concerned about China's access to AI chips

(00:32:07) Promising ways to use compute for governance

(00:40:53) When will compute no long be viable for governance

(00:44:56) Mis-aligned financial incentives around AI chips

(00:48:04) Who is well-suited to work on AI governance

(00:56:38) How to test your fit for working in AI governance

(01:02:46) Choosing between AI governance vs AI technical work

(01:08:24) What do you wish you had invented?

(01:09:26) Finding Lennart online