Project summary

I have been working to assist the AI safety and Global Catastrophic Risks fields unpaid since leaving Ashgro last year. During that time, I have spent ~$80,000AU of my own savings, then sold my investments, and then used the money I had saved for a house deposit in order to have:

Founded Beacon and got it through its incubation period

Housed at my own expense several international AI safety researchers and provided logistical and operational support for others

Privately funded several fledgling AI safety projects while waiting for Beacon to get its 501c3 status sorted

Supported three local domestic, financial and chemical abuse survivors with security, relocation assistance, paying for medical and legal aid, and subsequent police cooperation,

Been physically assaulted, twice, once seriously, and

A bunch of stuff that I still can't talk about in furtherance of the above.

I have now run out of money. Several people in the AI safety community have already supported me with loans, I don't want to borrow any more money, I would like some money to be donated. I need to pay bills and rent in about a fortnight, I have enough cash and food in the fridge to last me until then.

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

Stop me from taking any more mental or physical damage, retaining my medium term utility to the community. I will recover anyway, but we don't have the luxury of that much time.

How will this funding be used?

Pay the rent for me and the AI safety researcher living with me until the end of the lease in a few months, to give myself breathing room.

Pay my and their shares of the bills that until now I have fully absorbed until I can figure out where my next paying job is.

Pay for a week's rest in a hotel somewhere safe and some sessions with my psych while I sort through evidence to hand over to police in relation to the criminal matters i have been involved in.

Anything above the 5k will be used for some downtime, I will probably spend a few hundred dollars on some warhammer miniatures and paints and do that and some art stuff, then to fly to EAGxAustralasia and then the Philippines, where I will try to work on some AI safety projects.

If I get paid in the meantime, or there's a crossover in finances, I'll either cancel this project, keep the money and use it at my discretion, or redonate it here on the platform, whatever's easiest.

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

Enough people here know me, I think. Ask plex, Rob Miles, Beacon people, Ashgro people, people on linkedin, or people on facebook or social media.

Track record: ask any of the people I've helped or look at linkedin

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

I burn out more and am useless for a few months

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

$250k to Beacon via AISTOF, in talks with others for Beacon, nothing for me