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CFAR Staff - Center for Applied Rationality

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Center for Applied Rationality·rationality.org/about/staff

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Good quality. Reputable source with community review or editorial standards, but less rigorous than peer-reviewed venues.

Rating inherited from publication venue: Center for Applied Rationality

This is the staff page for CFAR (Center for Applied Rationality), an organization focused on rationality training and community building that has historically intersected with AI safety efforts through its connections to MIRI and the broader rationalist community.

Metadata

Importance: 12/100homepagereference

Summary

This page lists current and alumni staff of the Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR), including their backgrounds in mathematics, philosophy, psychology, software engineering, and AI research. CFAR is closely connected to the AI safety ecosystem, with staff having worked at MIRI, AI Impacts, GiveWell, and other EA-adjacent organizations. The page provides organizational context for understanding CFAR's personnel and expertise.

Key Points

  • •CFAR staff have backgrounds spanning mathematics, philosophy, psychology, CS, and software engineering, reflecting the organization's interdisciplinary approach.
  • •Several staff members have direct AI safety connections, including work at MIRI and AI Impacts.
  • •The organization has ties to the broader EA ecosystem, with alumni having worked at GiveWell, EA Global, and related organizations.
  • •CFAR focuses on rationality training, decision-making, and tacit knowledge transfer — skills relevant to AI safety researchers.
  • •Staff alumni section indicates organizational evolution over time with contributors to curriculum, operations, and research.

Cached Content Preview

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Staff

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Anna has previously done machine learning research for NASA and applied mathematics research on the statistics of phage metagenomics. She holds a bachelor's in mathematics from UC Santa Barbara, and one in Great Books from St. John's College, Santa Fe. She left grad school in philosophy in 2008 to work on AI risk and rationality community building with MIRI and then CFAR.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jack studied psychology and gender and has previously worked as an event planner, data researcher, and legal assistant. They enjoy gaming, spreadsheets, and deep discussions on the intersection of culture and identity.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Davis has been involved with CFAR in one capacity or another since early 2014, working in operations, finance, curriculum development, and teaching. He also plays, analyzes, and provides tournament commentary for competitive tabletop games and has written many strategy articles and a few short stories. Davis holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Carleton College.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Preston holds a Ph.D in philosophy from Rutgers University and has taught classes on rationality while working as a philosophy professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. His research focuses on rational decision making, the value of life, and the ethics of new technologies.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Stephanie is a software engineer and designer who has worked with BrightRoll, True Ventures, Google and Arbital. She holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she won the Stephen F. Weiss Award for Outstanding Achievement in Computer Science.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Divia has a bachelor's in CS from Harvard. She describes herself as "Rationalist, unschooler, clicker training enthusiast, Dorothy Dunnett lover, married to William Eden. Hanging out with my kids and trying to figure stuff out."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 John is a software engineer who has worked with Amazon and AI Impacts. He was the primary author of the PyMC3 software package for Bayesian statistical modeling and probabilistic machine learning. John holds bachelor's degrees in chemical engineering and paper science and engineering from the University of Washington.

 
 
 
 
 
 Staff Alumni

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Eli's deeply committed to making the world better, in whatever way he can. His current focus is developing frameworks for bridging deep intractable-seeming disagreements and for transferring tacit knowledge between people. He's also been thinking about the history of science and bridgings between phenomenology and neuroscience.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pete worked as a software architect and consultant before getting serious about developmental psychology. He cofounded an emotional intelligence and communication training organization, and he joined CFAR after helping on several projects including EA Global and EA Action.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dan has researched the psychology of judgment and decision making and publ

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