I personally learn more in the comments section of my Substack than at NeurIPS. My experience has been negative since Zuckerberg showed up in 2013 and started pitching people to sell out to Facebook. I haven’t been since 2017. But the conference is now serving multiple purposes at once, and some of the academic ends aren’t legible unless you’re an eager grad student with the right mindset.
I sent this piece to a colleague in Europe, and he replied with an interesting perspective:
“A few of my postdocs/students were there, and their report had a totally different vibe. They have been only a few times and have only seen this version of the conference. They went to the poster sessions, gained a sense of current scientific trends, and were invigorated by the energy. Probably this wouldn't have been my experience, and yet it might be for a lot of kids from random places around the world, don't you think?”
Maybe this doesn't apply, but in case you have sensitive grad student readers outside Stanford STEM PhDs, I thought I would provide some additional details on minimum salaries, since most schools pay lower than $50K. As far as I know, most places pay the minimum salary (if the minimum is considered high, probably if it's over around $30K?). If the minimum is low, places may pay more than the minimum. Anyway, here's what I could find online for this year:
- Stanford: $56K
- CU Boulder: $47-51K (is this right??)
- Columbia: $43-50K
- University of Michigan: $44K
- Duke: $42K
- USC: $41K
- Georgia Tech: $30K
- University of Arizona: $29K
- Oregon State University: $28-30K?
- SUNY Binghamton: $25-31K
- Mizzou: $27K
- University of Central Florida: $27K-ish? (minimum may be $18K... oof)
It is worth noting several of these places have jumped up significantly (~25%+) in the last 2-3 years, presumably due to outcry from students. Also, some places pay non-stem grad students less than STEM ones. And of course, grad students who are in master's programs may actually be paying tens of thousands of dollars a year and not getting paid at all! Hooray!
Can't quite understand but do much appreciate the Deep Pleasure I get from attending this conference/parties in your mind, Jasmine.
I know you're doing a book with Mr. Hard Fork, but please consider doing a book of you just living the life in SF/SV, observing all this madness. I imagine the Hard Fork book will a kind be a of popular history, but what WE (i.e. I) yearn for is a diary version of this Very Strange Moment in human history through your participant-observer eyes.
I'd contribute to a Go Fund Me to sponsor the writing! 10 bucks!
Great read. Came back from a big VC/AI conference in Finland a few weeks back. Funny how different the vibes at these conferences are in Europe Vs how you describe things in Cali. It's like all the caricatures of a tech scene stretched out over a several thousand square metre canvas of meeting rooms.
Super interesting. It’s also a bit weird to think that AI is now so mainstream, after decades of relative obscurity. And it feels like the dot.com heydays.
hahaha i was obviously really there to see my dear friends & learn how to play "cryptic crosswords" (?????), but it was such a tempting narrative that I had to take the opp
“It aimed to challenge people usually preoccupied with averting AI doom to imagine the new political and economic structures necessary for a post-AGI world.”
Its going to be highly necessary to imagine new political and economic structures _in order to_ avert (several versions of) AI doom.
"“So how did you estimate one day as the GDP doubling rate?” I ask.
“Just vibes,” his friend replies. “Like, that’s how fast bacteria double."
Of course. Just vibes all the way down.
chatham house but one of the people saying this is held in far higher esteem in this world than I’d like
I personally learn more in the comments section of my Substack than at NeurIPS. My experience has been negative since Zuckerberg showed up in 2013 and started pitching people to sell out to Facebook. I haven’t been since 2017. But the conference is now serving multiple purposes at once, and some of the academic ends aren’t legible unless you’re an eager grad student with the right mindset.
I sent this piece to a colleague in Europe, and he replied with an interesting perspective:
“A few of my postdocs/students were there, and their report had a totally different vibe. They have been only a few times and have only seen this version of the conference. They went to the poster sessions, gained a sense of current scientific trends, and were invigorated by the energy. Probably this wouldn't have been my experience, and yet it might be for a lot of kids from random places around the world, don't you think?”
that’s good to hear! the big difference from SF for me is definitely how global it is, so I’m sure the bubble is partly of my own making haha
Maybe this doesn't apply, but in case you have sensitive grad student readers outside Stanford STEM PhDs, I thought I would provide some additional details on minimum salaries, since most schools pay lower than $50K. As far as I know, most places pay the minimum salary (if the minimum is considered high, probably if it's over around $30K?). If the minimum is low, places may pay more than the minimum. Anyway, here's what I could find online for this year:
- Stanford: $56K
- CU Boulder: $47-51K (is this right??)
- Columbia: $43-50K
- University of Michigan: $44K
- Duke: $42K
- USC: $41K
- Georgia Tech: $30K
- University of Arizona: $29K
- Oregon State University: $28-30K?
- SUNY Binghamton: $25-31K
- Mizzou: $27K
- University of Central Florida: $27K-ish? (minimum may be $18K... oof)
It is worth noting several of these places have jumped up significantly (~25%+) in the last 2-3 years, presumably due to outcry from students. Also, some places pay non-stem grad students less than STEM ones. And of course, grad students who are in master's programs may actually be paying tens of thousands of dollars a year and not getting paid at all! Hooray!
thanks for the additional info!
Can't quite understand but do much appreciate the Deep Pleasure I get from attending this conference/parties in your mind, Jasmine.
I know you're doing a book with Mr. Hard Fork, but please consider doing a book of you just living the life in SF/SV, observing all this madness. I imagine the Hard Fork book will a kind be a of popular history, but what WE (i.e. I) yearn for is a diary version of this Very Strange Moment in human history through your participant-observer eyes.
I'd contribute to a Go Fund Me to sponsor the writing! 10 bucks!
maybe someday! but the world moves too fast for book timelines rn
This writing is so good.
Great read. Came back from a big VC/AI conference in Finland a few weeks back. Funny how different the vibes at these conferences are in Europe Vs how you describe things in Cali. It's like all the caricatures of a tech scene stretched out over a several thousand square metre canvas of meeting rooms.
Such a fun read!!
Super interesting. It’s also a bit weird to think that AI is now so mainstream, after decades of relative obscurity. And it feels like the dot.com heydays.
Great read; felt like I was there.
Coffee cart is a conference constant for so many reasons and just one of the beverage through lines.
noooo the wasian man thing!! the spies thing!!!
also "I attend a friend’s birthday to sip non-alcoholic beers and talk to more AI researchers"
hey
hahaha i was obviously really there to see my dear friends & learn how to play "cryptic crosswords" (?????), but it was such a tempting narrative that I had to take the opp
hahaha so fair. (and also for the record we served a lot of martinis)
“It aimed to challenge people usually preoccupied with averting AI doom to imagine the new political and economic structures necessary for a post-AGI world.”
Its going to be highly necessary to imagine new political and economic structures _in order to_ avert (several versions of) AI doom.
i LOVE this. thank you
Incredibly good post, thanks for writing!
I made a small donation.
thank you!
Judging by the content of these seminars, if this conference were held by religious denomination then the government would be calling it a death cult.
Some of these people are very disturbing.
Oh man. *raises brows at some places.* Thanks for sharing your coverage!