This article is the root of a tree of articles about how to help. You can navigate the tree via the related articles at the bottom of each article, choosing whichever one applies most to your situation. These articles are meant to help you figure out how you can best contribute, to give you some advice, and to link you to resources which should help you on whichever path you choose.

Our most general advice is to get in touch with others and start reading about the parts of the issue that you find interesting. For example, there are lists of local groups, communities, and training programs or, as a quick default, the AI Alignment Slack.

One first question to consider before we get into the details of how you might be able to help: have you “put your own oxygen mask on first” and got yourself into a good enough place (financially, psychologically, health-wise, etc.) to be productive and make decisions with good judgment, even when working on heavy topics like existential risk? This is particularly important if you want to make AI alignment a major focus of your life.