I really enjoyed AISC8. I think the barrier for entry for AISC is not too low - projects are varied, some more promising than others, but importantly they give people (like me) A chance to jump right in and try to do useful work in AI Safety.

My current work (AI Standards Lab) was originally a AISC project. Without it, I'd guess I would be full-time employed in the field at least 1 year later, and the EU standards currently close to completion would be a lot weaker. High impact/high neglectedness opportunities (which might not meet a funding bar initially) are fairly well positioned to be kickstarted with volunteer effort in AISC, even if some projects will fail (hits based). After some initial results during AISC, they can be funded more easily.