Carl Mayers

Mirror LifeAIxBioGovernance/PolicyDetectionMCMsBiohardeningStrategic Response Planning
Written By Ben Wōden

Joint mentorship with Cassidy Nelson

Projects

Research Direction: I work on the intersection between AI and biology, and have a broad remit to consider extreme risks. Defensive acceleration is a current area of focus for me.

We welcome project proposals from candidates, and in particular are interested in projects involving mirror life research governance, synthetic nucleic acid screening policy, early warning systems and biosurveillance, AIxBio mitigations, defensive acceleration for biodefense, and deterrence and attribution capabilities. We will primarily supervise policy projects, but can also supervise the development of biosecurity tools for the policy space including those drawing on open-source intelligence for biosecurity problems. Some example projects include:

  • Developing options for policy positions on a topic posing an extreme risk in the AIxBio space

  • Evaluation of national global biosurveillance endeavours, and how collaboration can be enhanced

  • Methods to test AI model performance for accuracy and precision in biological tasks

What I'm looking for in a Mentee

An ideal mentee would be someone who is curious, creative, thoughtful, and passionate about real world impact. Some experience in biology would probably help, but that's not a showstopper.

What I'm like as a Mentor

My style is generally open, collaborative and curious. My communication style tends to be informal, usually with a few mentoring sessions each week, targeted at areas that my mentee has identified for growth - in themselves, or their project. There will be opportunities to work together in person, and remotely - depending on your preference. And I'll help you to build your network, providing introductions to colleagues working in areas that align with your project. I expect you to feedback to me what's working for you, and what you need help with, and I'll feedback to you the same way.

Bio

I'm a virologist by training, and worked for 20+ years at Dstl Porton Down, developing medical countermeasures, biodetection capabilities and forensic science. In the last five years I've worked in strategic policy and operational delivery, and led the Epidemiology team on the UK SAGE COVID secretariat. I moved to CLTR because I believe the risks we face in the intersection between AI and biology are underestimated, and worthy of serious consideration.

Ben Wōden
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Jacob Swett