We want everyone on this course to be able to focus their full attention on having good conversations, getting to know people, learning interesting things, and generally having fun.

Accordingly, all course participants are expected to show respect and courtesy to each other in all interactions, whether in person or online.

By participating in this course, you agree to abide by the following code of conduct.

Conversation Norms

• Be kind.

  • Stay civil, at the minimum. Don’t sneer or be snarky. In general, assume good faith. We may delete unnecessary rudeness and issue warnings or bans for it.

  • Substantive disagreements are fine and expected. Disagreements help us find the truth and are part of healthy communication.

• Stay on topic.

  • No spam. Each channel in this Slack workspace has a clearly defined topic to help keep conversation focused and productive. Please endeavour to stick to these and keep conversations in the appropriate channels.

  • Don’t derail conversations in irrelevant directions.

• Be honest.

  • Don’t mislead or manipulate.

  • Communicate your uncertainty and the true reasons behind your beliefs as much as you can.

  • Be willing to change your mind.

Unacceptable Behaviour

The following types of behaviour are unacceptable during course events and discussions, and constitute code of conduct violations.

Abusive behaviour

• Harassment – this includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion, as well as sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual or romantic attention.

• Threats – threatening someone physically or verbally. For example, threatening to publicize sensitive information about someone’s personal life.

Unwelcoming and inappropriate behaviour

• Blatant -isms—saying things that are explicitly racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. For example, arguing that some people are less intelligent because of their gender, race or religion. Subtle -isms and small mistakes made in conversation are not code of conduct violations. However, repeating something after you have been asked to stop, it has been pointed out to you that you broke a social rule, or antagonizing or arguing with someone who has pointed out your subtle -ism is considered unwelcoming behavior, would be considered violations.

• Maliciousness towards other participants —deliberately attempting to make others feel bad, name-calling, singling out others for derision or exclusion. For example, telling someone they’re not good enough to be on the programme, etc.

Reporting

If you see a violation of our code of conduct, please report it via the anonymous feedback form, to an organiser, or to someone you trust who can inform an organiser on your behalf.

Credits

This Code of Conduct is heavily based on that provided by the Recurse Center.

Hey there, course participants! We’re absolutely thrilled to have you onboard one of courses. We’ve meticulously crafted the curriculum with experts, recruited the best facilitators in the land, and selected you – yes, you – as a stand-out applicant we handpicked to join us.

What we really really want is make sure you have a brilliant learning experience that equips you to tackle the world’s most pressing problems. Facilitated group discussions are a hugely important part of the learning experience, and both you and your fellow participants will get the most from the course if you engage deeply with the discussions.

This policy explains our expectations around discussion attendance to ensure we support each other towards this shared goal.

1. Preparation 📚

Before you jump into discussions, make sure to complete any mandatory readings and exercises. They’ll help you navigate and engage with group discussions and activities. We don’t want you feeling like you’re trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube in the dark (unless you’re weirdly good at that, in which case we do)!

You should also double-check your internet connection works, and you’ve got the appropriate equipment to attend the online discussions. Need tech help? Ask in the logistics questions channel of the community Slack.

2. Attendance 🕒

There’s no way around it – you’ve got to be at each discussion every week. Why? Because this is where the magic happens. Your presence is the key ingredient that makes the discussions come alive, the interactions sizzle, and the group activities reach their full potential – both for you and your fellow participants. So, mark your calendars, set reminders, and make it a habit!

Also, we know life can be chaotic but let’s try to avoid “fashionably late” entrances. Show up to the discussions on time, so you don’t miss a single nugget of wisdom from your peers.

3. Absences 🔀

We get it; life can sometimes be unpredictable. If you can’t make it to your regular discussion, use the switch group link in the Course Hub to join another group that week. Where possible, do this in advance so your facilitators can better plan their discussions.

If you do miss a week entirely, reach out to your facilitator to catch up on what you missed. They’re there to support you with your learning!

4. Active participation 🙌

We’re not looking for spectators; we want you to actively participate in the discussions with your full attention. Engage wholeheartedly in discussions, fire away your curious questions, and shower us with your invaluable feedback. Your contributions enrich not only your learning but also that of your fantastic group peers!

5. Enforcement 🧑‍⚖️

Failure to comply with this policy might land you a formal written warning – consider it our gentle reminder. In very rare cases, we might have to remove you from the course. Naturally, we understand life can throw curveballs: we’ll take illness, emergencies, or other circumstances into account when deciding on this.

Remember, we’re all in this together – a fantastic learning community! So, put on your learning cap, buckle up, and let’s rock this course like the stars we are!

We are approached by a number of employers and community organisers who like to know who is participating in the AGI Safety Fundamentals course, and who has signed up to our newsletter, for recruitment purposes.

We need your permission to share aspects of your application data directly with such 3rd parties. We expect this to lead to exciting opportunities for jobs and meetups and encourage you to give permission, for this reason! The parties we would like to share your data with are:

• Offering further development opportunities

• Recruiting people to do excellent, direct work on the problem

• Coordinating the alignment space

Your data will only be used by these parties to make positive inferences against your application, rather than rule people out of anything.

No transfer of funds will ever be involved in the sharing of your data – we do this only we believe there is an opportunity that directly aligns with our goals of reducing risk from advanced AI. If you do not return this form, we will (continue to) not share any of your data with any 3rd parties.

We will not share any sensitive data you disclosed to us, such as our diversity tracking information.