Episode Details
Back to Episodes[Linkpost] “Manifund Essay Prize: on EA funding, the SF scene, and forecasting” by Austin
Description
Manifund is sponsoring 3 prizes for the best new essays that give us insight into how to navigate the future. Winners receive a $500 cash prize + a bonus prize, and winning essays may be republished (with attribution) on our newsletters.
This prize is in partnership with Inkhaven, though non-Inkhaven folks are welcome to submit.
Essays due midnight April 24; submit here!
Manifund: “What systems might manage the coming torrent of funding?”
Funding in EA may soon skyrocket. Between Anthropic & OpenAI tenders, the new OpenAI foundation, and short timelines to AGI, the amount of money available will be unprecedented. What mechanisms, incentive structures, orgs, and attitudes will help direct this windfall wisely?
- Bonus prize: $1000 in donation credits on your Manifund account
- Examples of essays we love:
- https://worksinprogress.co/issue/how-to-start-an-advance-market-commitment/
- https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/paMYXYFYbbjpdjgbt/future-fund-june-2022-update
- https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/vpPee6NgMbPcdsam3/the-funding-conversation-we-left-unfinished
- https://thecounterfactual.substack.com/p/the-anthropic-ipo-is-coming-we-arent
- https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/10-technologies-that-wont-exist-in-5-yrs/
- See also How to spend 100x more on safety?
Mox: “How to create a flourishing EA & AI safety scene in San Francisco?”
The race to build AI is going on in SF. So why is the AI safety scene here so weak? Berkeley, London, and DC all offer examples to learn from, but SF has its own unique challenges [...]
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Outline:
(00:41) Manifund: What systems might manage the coming torrent of funding?
(01:26) Mox: How to create a flourishing EA & AI safety scene in San Francisco?
(02:16) Manifest: How can we leverage forecasting into better decisions?
(02:58) Prize terms
(04:00) Appendix: some problems one might grapple with
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First published:
April 20th, 2026
Linkpost URL:
https://manifund.org/essay
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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.