Joris Postmus

I think AI is the most significant human invention of our time, and as someone in the field, I feel a real responsibility to help make sure it develops in ways that are genuinely good.

This is what originally got me into AI Safety. I previously co-founded AISIG, one of the largest student-led AI Safety organizations in the world, where I still serve on the advisory board. I also like to do research on making language models more interpretable and steerable, having published at NeurIPS on methods for controlling model behavior.

Over the years, I've noticed that the problems I care about most deeply seem to always trace back to deep human patterns. Growing disconnection and polarization, collapsing epistemics, an inability to coordinate even when the stakes are existential. I think a lot of this comes down to ego, self-deception, a fundamental disconnect from how our own minds actually work, and a prisoner's dilemma playing out at a global scale. I also think AI (if used properly), for the first time, gives us a real chance to actually help people grow past those patterns, epistemically, cognitively, spiritually, at a scale that was never possible before.

Given where my skills, personal interests, and sense of purpose point right now, that's what I want to focus on. I'm currently building AI-powered tools for personal and contemplative development at Waking Up, one of the largest meditation apps in the world. I've personally been using it for over five years, and the practice has deeply transformed how I think, experience, and relate to myself and others. I think we have a real chance to help millions, if not billions of people grow in ways that weren't possible before, to positively change the trajectory of our future across the board.