EA - Highlights from LPP’s field-building efforts by Legal Priorities Project

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Highlights from LPP’s field-building efforts, published by Legal Priorities Project on March 23, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum.IntroductionThe Legal Priorities Project (LPP) is dedicated to building a global community of people passionate about using the law to protect future generations and mitigate existential risk. Through our flagship programs—the Legal Priorities Summer Institute and the Summer Research Fellowship—participants gain hands-on experience and develop the skills needed to make a meaningful impact in this field. In this overview, you will learn more about what it's like to participate in these programs, what to expect afterward, and what other initiatives we’ve run. We are excited to share the work and accomplishments of our talented participants and look forward to hearing from you if you would like to get involved!Legal Priorities Summer InstituteThe Legal Priorities Summer Institute (LPSI) is an intensive, week-long program to introduce altruistically-minded law and policy students and early-career professionals to projects, theories, and tools relevant to tackling critical issues affecting the long-term future.LPSI is aimed primarily at individuals who want to learn about issues affecting the long-term future. Through a series of presentations, discussions, debates, and workshops, led by an array of experts, including government officials, academics, legal practitioners, philanthropists, and members of the judiciary, participants gain a better understanding of the current legal landscape and learn about the latest developments, trends, and best practices related to existential risk and global challenges.Despite the program being highly competitive, we strive to bring together individuals from various backgrounds, countries, cultures, disciplines, and professional experiences. We aim to create an environment that promotes open-mindedness and encourages participants to consider alternative perspectives.2022LPSI 2022 attracted 473 applicants from across the globe (227 undergrads, 160 master’s/JD, 65 PhD/JSD, and 21 others), with a significant number coming from top-ranked institutions—200 (42%) from the world’s top 20 law schools and 113 (24%) from the top 5 law schools. 402 (85%) applicants and 14 (40%) participants had very little or no previous exposure to longtermism.Thirty-five talented individuals were selected to participate in the program, representing eighteen countries and five continents, making the cohort extraordinarily diverse. You can meet our 2022 participants here.Program highlightsA talk on “Reflections on Longtermist AI Governance Research from a Global South Perspective” by Cecil Abungu (Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, Legal Priorities Project).A discussion panel on AI governance with researchers from the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.A talk on “Catastrophic Climate Change” by Goodwin Gibbins (Future of Humanity Institute).A career planning workshop with an advisor from 80,000 Hours.A talk on “Developing an Impact Litigation Strategy to Limit Catastrophic Biorisk” by Laurens Prins (Legal Priorities Project).Feedback from participantsAll feedback and testimonials were submitted anonymously right after the event.From 1 to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend the Institute to a colleague with similar interests to your own?9.1 / 10What was the most valuable experience from LPSI for you?LPSI gave me an opportunity to meet an amazing group of people. I met a group of people from the Global South, which has motivated all of us to bring forth Global South perspectives and collaborate on ways to bring these perspectives to the global avenue. Getting feedback and giving feedback to people was also a very valuable experience. It is impressive how much clarity you can get on ideas when...