Applications for the launch retreat close Friday, October 16 · Apply for one of 16 spots
Applications open · Central & Western New York

Sixteen people.
One weekend on AI safety.

A fully funded retreat in the Finger Lakes, November 13–15 — students, researchers, and builders from across the region. Lodging, meals, and travel covered. No background required.

Nov 13–15
Finger Lakes, NY
16 spots
by application
Free
travel covered
Oct 16
applications close
What it is

A hub that connects
the region's hubs.

The retreat is run by CNY AI Safety — a lightweight regional network, and an aggregator. We map and link the AI safety groups already active across Central and Western New York, help start new local hubs where there's a gap, and bring everyone together at shared events. It started in Rochester; it's built to spread.

Connect what exists

We point to and link the AI safety clubs, reading groups, and builders already active across the region.

Seed what's missing

Where a campus has interest but no group, we'll come give a free talk and help a new local hub get off the ground.

Convene everyone

We bring the network together in person — starting with a small launch retreat, then larger events that rotate between cities.

Local hubs

AI safety is already
happening here.

Across the region, students and researchers are already running AI safety groups. We connect them and help new ones start. Here are examples of local hubs — and where the next ones could be.

Active hub

Cornell AI Alignment

Ithaca · Cornell University

Student-led club running alignment fellowships, technical reading groups, and research support for undergrad and grad students.

Visit cornell-aia.org ›
Hub forming

Rochester

University of Rochester · RIT

The network's launch node — a durable local group forming around the launch event.

Get involved ›
Hub forming

Buffalo

University at Buffalo

Interest among local technical builders — looking for organizers to anchor a Buffalo hub.

Request a talk to start one ›
Hub forming

Syracuse

Syracuse University · SUNY Upstate

Policy and bio communities to draw from — a Syracuse hub is waiting to be started.

Request a talk to start one ›
Hub forming

Binghamton

Binghamton University

Responsible-AI and agent-safety research already underway — a natural place for the next hub.

Request a talk to start one ›

Active hubs are independent local groups, shown here as examples of AI safety activity in the region — listing isn't an endorsement or a formal affiliation. Running a group we should feature, or want to start one? Tell us ›

Who it's for

For anyone drawn
to the problem.

Students, researchers, and builders in AI, CS, policy, philosophy, and the sciences — at any level of experience with safety. No prior safety background required.

Students
Undergrad and grad students curious about AI risk — come to learn, build, or just explore.
Researchers
Faculty, PhDs, and lab members working on or adjacent to AI and its risks.
Builders
Local engineers, startups, and open-source contributors who want to build something safety-relevant.
Policy & humanities
Policy, philosophy, law, and social-science folks thinking about governance and impact.

…plus BlueDot community members across Central and Western New York.

Why it matters

Most AI energy points at shipping faster.
This network points it at the risks.

Students across the region are excited about AI — but few local groups connect that energy to reducing risk from increasingly capable systems. CNY AI Safety is a standing on-ramp into the field: a network that keeps making the connection, not a one-off event.

Find promising people

Surface students and builders across the region who could go deep on safety — and keep them connected.

Generate real work

Turn events and hub meetups into demos, evals, and proposals worth continuing.

Build something lasting

Grow a durable web of local hubs that keeps meeting between events, not just during them.

The weekend

What actually happens.

Two nights of reading, argument, and hands-on work — covering both the technical side (evals, interpretability, agent safety) and the governance side (misuse, biosecurity, policy). Small on purpose: sixteen people who actually keep going beats a hundred who came once.

Fri evening → Sun afternoon Governance · Technical An invited guest
Apply

Sixteen spots.

Applications close Friday, October 16 and take about fifteen minutes. We read every one and reply to everybody either way.

Can't make the weekend? Join the network and we'll keep you posted on talks and meetups near you.