# Looking for remote writing partners (for AI alignment research)

I'm looking for other junior researchers to form a distributed writing group for
mutual support. Please get in touch if you're interested.

# Who?

One to three other people and I.

I do AI alignment research independently. I'm working on the Farlamp project
(see the [GitHub repo](https://github.com/rmoehn/farlamp) or the [project
announcement on
LessWrong](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/S6gTBojS8CSCP7HEj/announcing-the-farlamp-project)).
And I live in Japan.

# What?

Read and discuss one another's work.

Duration: 15 min x number of participants

# Where?

Each at their desk, all connected by video call.

# When?

Weekly.

# Why?

Because in a group we can:
- Bring up questions, responses, suggestions for each other's research.
- Review each other's outlines and drafts.
- Keep each other disciplined.
- Support each other in other ways.

# How?

- If you want to join, then PM or email me (&lt;given name of President
  Nixon&gt;.moehn@posteo.de).
- We start and end our meetings on time.
- We talk about the state of our work, free-form or following prompts. This
  format will change based on what we find works well, how far a person is in
  their research etc.

# Whence?

Idea, content and rationale derived from [Booth et al.: The Craft of
Research](https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo23521678.html), p. 32. Here is the whole section about it:

> Creating a Writing Group
> 
> A downside of academic research is its isolation. Except for group projects,
> you'll read and write mostly alone. But it doesn't have to be that way. Look for
> someone other than your instructor or adviser who will talk with you about your
> progress, review your drafts, even pester you about how much you've written.
> That might be a generous friend, but even better is another writer so that you
> can comment on each other's ideas and drafts.
> 
> Best of all is a group of four or five people working on their own projects who
> meet regularly to read and discuss one another's work. Early on, each meeting
> should start with a summary of each person's project in this three-part
> sentence: *I'm working on X because I want to find out Y, so that I (and you)
> can better understand Z* (more about this in 3.4). As your projects advance,
> develop an opening "elevator story," a short summary of your project that you
> could give someone on the way to a meeting. It should include your research
> question, your best guess at an answer, and the kind of evidence you expect to
> use to support it. The group can then follow up with questions, responses, and
> suggestions.
> 
> Don't limit your talk to just your story, however. Talk about your-readers: Why
> should they be interested in your question? How might they respond to your
> argument? Will they trust your evidence? Will they have other evidence in mind?
> Such questions help you plan an argument that anticipates what your readers ex-
> pect. Your group can even help you brainstorm when you bog down. Later the group
> can read one another's outlines and drafts to imagine how their final readers
> will respond. If your group has a problem with your draft, so will those
> readers. But for most writers, a writing group is most valuable for the
> discipline it imposes. It is easier to meet a schedule when you know you must
> report to others.
> 
> Writing groups are common for those writing theses or dissertations. But the
> rules differ for a class paper. Some teachers think that a group or writing
> partner provides more help than is appropriate, so be clear what your instructor
> allows.