Beyond this being my own project, I believe it has the highest potential impact of any of the projects within the EACC and this funding will materially increase its likelihood of survival under new leadership.
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The AI Governance Archive (TAIGA)
Project summary
The AI Governance Archive (TAIGA) is a private platform for qualified AI Governance researchers to better coordinate among one another.
Theory of Impact
Through facilitating information exchange in AI governance, especially of non-public content that requires increased levels of context and trust, we hope to:
1) increase the overall quality of research by spreading useful information more widely, allowing other researchers to build on existing work;
2) improve networking e.g., finding collaborators for future projects, finding researchers with relevant expertise, inviting people for events that focus on specific topics;
3) increase the efficiency of the research field by better allocating researcher time and thus e.g. avoiding duplicated efforts;
4) improve talent development by making it possible for new researchers to get up to speed on new topics and find relevant work that is not publicly accessible;
5) provide leaders with the data they need to make critical decisions, e.g., allocating resources to the most neglected areas.
6) support field-building-related tasks, such as organising workshops at conferences, etc.
How will this funding be used?
(1) Paying fiscal sponsorship and tech fees to keep TAIGA live beyond January
(2) Pay my time to work through the backlog of access requests, develop a new funding proposal, and hand the project over to a new Executive Director
Should I fail to secure further grant-funding, TAIGA will remain donation-funded and will stay live under a new ED until such donation funding runs out.
Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?
Currently just me, David Corfield, a serial social entrepreneur with a track record of impact through my ventures: TAIGA, The Small Business School Challenge, and LifeWork. I will announce the new Executive Director once funding is secured.
What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?
If we fail to raise $750 in donations or a larger grant then TAIGA will shut down and the database deleted for InfoSec reasons in January 2025.
What other funding are you or your project getting?
I am in the process of working with the LTFF on a new grant to fund the new ED to run and develop TAIGA over the next 12-months and beyond.
donated $400
donated $50
Lucie Philippon
3 months ago
@DavidCorfield What is the rationale for not publishing the name of the future executive director?
donated $400
David Corfield
3 months ago
@Lucie Thanks for the donation!
There are a few (likely small) risks to that person for it to be public knowledge that they are considering taking a new position, but more than anything I want the decision over a future ED candidate to be made by a grant funder who will back them rather than directly by the community.
Gaurav Yadav
3 months ago
If I didn't procrastinate on applying to get money from Manifund for the community choice thing, I would have donated some amount of money to keep this alive. I think the request is small enough that it seems useful to fund this on the margin.
donated $400
David Corfield
3 months ago
Thanks @GauravYadav! I was equally surprised at how quickly the pot of money was claimed.
donated $50
Lucie Philippon
3 months ago
I only knew about TAIGA from hearsay, so I'm glad to finally get information on it!
I would be interested in seeing some examples of how TAIGA has been impactful, and some general stats to see the health of the project. I intend to apply to access soon, but in the meantime, I think this information would help me and others assess the impact of the project.
Zach Stein-Perlman
3 months ago
(The project is currently ~dead, and among other things David's fundraising techniques are very questionable.)
(I'm not going to get into an argument with David here so maybe discount this comment accordingly.)
Gaurav Yadav
3 months ago
@ZachSteinPerlman I do think before TAIGA paused operations, it seemed useful to find new ideas and projects. There are a bunch of new/speculative ideas on there that were helpful to me at the time.
donated $400
David Corfield
3 months ago
@Lucie sadly I don't have the capacity to share more info on TAIGA and field the interest it would generate, and hence this campaign was targeted to the existing TAIGA community to raise just a small sum to bridge to the next grant funding. Hopefully Gaurav's comment helps shed some light at the impact on an individual level, and while the site was still funded and supported it had >120 monthly active users who were more effective and efficient for it existing.
As for its current state, TAIGA is live but unsupported and unfunded, hence the funding ask to cover putting together a funding application that would involve a transfer in leadership. I have kept the site up out of my own pocket over the last 6+ months while others were responsible for (and unsuccessful in) fundraising. I don't think that anything I wrote in the post was misleading, but please anyone let me know if you disagree.
At my request, Zach shared the rationale for his comment over email. I would gladly make this public as I stand by my actions, though this isn't his wish, and I don't have the capacity (or see it as value-creating) to write an explanation. I do hope this community discounts his comment accordingly, as he suggests, but I will also understand if you allocate your funds to other worthy projects.
donated $600
Will Aldred
3 months ago
Donated because I see TAIGA as a critical piece of infrastructure for the AI governance community (and it would be, imo, a huge shame if it went under because of current funding struggles).
In line with the part of the FAQ that reads “Q: Can I direct my funds to a project I work on or am involved with? A: Yes! We ask that you mention this as a comment on the project, but otherwise it’s fine to donate to projects you are involved with,” I feel like I should disclose that I am looking at potentially working for TAIGA.