Alignment Research Engineer Accelerator (ARENA) is a fully-funded upskilling initiative focused on technical AI alignment research. It is a 6 weeks program, based in London, with four core chapters in the curriculum including mechanistic interpretability, reinforcement learning, training at scale, and a capstone project. I found the materials to be of very high quality that helped me improve not only my engineering skills but also conceptual understanding of important concepts. Unfortunately, I couldn’t follow the reinforcement learning and training at scale chapters due to my commitments for SERI-MATS. But I’m looking forward completing those chapters in the future.

For me, it was an amazing experience because it marked my very first time visiting Europe! I had the opportunity to wander through numerous historical sites in London and delve into multiple museums. Moreover, I had the pleasure of meeting incredibly intelligent and fascinating individuals who are passionately dedicated to ensuring AI’s alignment. I truly hope to cross paths with them again at upcoming events…