Rob Wiblin

was for like my manager or like leadership to like argue with me about the object level on that and like for for there to be like some sort of like shared view within the organization about like how much this was a good idea or like what are the pros and cons of it and like how much we want to bet on it but I think that was like just kind of unrealistic given the other priorities on their plate and like given their level of like context in this area so I ended up having to

to sort of approach it in a more like transactional way with the organization.

It's more like, rather than like, let's talk about whether this is a good idea.

It was more like, well, I want to do it this way.

And they were like, yeah, I mean, we don't know if that's the best way to do things.

And like, we have some skepticism, but like, you can, you can do that if you want.

And it's like, yeah,

And so I felt like kind of lonely because I think and this is something I learned about myself, like over the course of trying to run this program and then going on sabbatical and reflecting on it that I really like to be like kind of plugged into the like central brain of like the organization I'm part of.

And I sort of.

I didn't feel like I had a path to do that.

And instead, what I had a path to do was to stand up this thing, which I tried to do, but it just felt a bit tough going.

Yeah, I felt a bit on my own.

And I'm not a very entrepreneurial person, I think.

Or I'm ambitious in some ways, but I just really have a high need for constantly talking to other people.

And I tried to achieve that sense of team by like hiring people under me to help me with this vision.

But I think I was not very good at hiring and management.

Partly it was because this vision was like pretty nebulous.

And I think I like...

probably needed to spend more cycles working out the kinks in it by myself and really solidifying what it is and what's the realistic version of doing an understanding-oriented technical AI safety program.

So it was very hard to hire because you kind of had to hire for someone who really resonated with that off the bat, even though it wasn't a very well-defined thing.