Jared Cheang

I am a recent Masters’ Graduate looking to transition my career into AI Safety Research. Previously, I come from an AI and Software Engineering background with recent experiences based around the public sector delivering AI-based solutions.

My shift into AI Safety grew naturally out of my technical work over the past few years. While working with many different AI systems and applications, I saw firsthand just how popular they were becoming. But despite all the excitement, I realized there was a huge amount of work needed to make sure these systems are truly reliable and trustworthy. The biggest concern came from the new Generative AI models which opened a massive box of problems around how they work and why they make the decisions they do. What struck me is how much the world is starting to depend on these incredibly powerful tools when we don’t fully understand their inner workings.

This realization is what directed my focus towards AI Safety. Since then, I’ve been actively engaged with the local AI Safety community, attending various events and reading groups while learning from brilliant peers and colleagues. To build on this foundation, I’m currently taking an AI Safety Alignment course by European Network for AI Safety (ENAIS) and a PhD module on Cooperative Intelligence and Rational Agents under Prof Tan Zhi-Xuan, gaining hands-on experience and exposure in AI safety to smoothen my path into a professional career. My current research interests are centered around robustly beneficial AI as a safe transition towards advanced intelligence, which include Guaranteed Safe AI (GSAI), AI control, and the intersection of cognitive science with human-AI interaction.

My experiences have helped me develop as a dedicated generalist, someone who enjoys contributing across various technical and leadership domains. This cross-functional mindset is grounded in a strong academic foundation, where I was fortunate enough to be awarded an accelerated direct Masters scholarship (top 3% of cohort) and offered a CS PhD at a top 10 institution. This foundation, alongside a belief in teamwork, has led to some rewarding practical outcomes. For example, I had the opportunity to lead a team that secured 1st runner-up in a national hackathon during my year abroad. More recently, I was grateful for the chance to mentor a team of juniors at a national innovation challenge, and it was rewarding to see them reach a Top 8 national finish and be awarded $5,000. This commitment to building and contributing also fueled my early entrepreneurial experience as a student co-founder, which successfully secured a capital grant of $10,000.

A significant part of my growth has come from embracing collaborative leadership and mentorship. I often found myself in team lead roles during my postgraduate modules, which allowed me to hone my ability to build consensus and drive projects forward, even when working with members who had greater professional experience. I also find it incredibly fulfilling to help others grasp challenging concepts - I was honoured to receive an Outstanding Teaching Award while serving as a Teaching Assistant for a well-known, rigorous undergraduate computing module, and I recently stepped up as primary Teaching Assistant for a postgraduate module, achieving a commendable performance review and gaining valuable experience in structured mentorship.

Outside of my academic work, I use my technical skills for community benefit and outreach. I enjoy contributing to the next generation of technologists by helping to spearhead AI-based curriculum development at a local robotics and coding academy, where I also served as Head Coach for teams that recently achieved a national Top 3 finish. Also, I serve as the Data/AI Technical Lead for a youth-focused non-profit, helping to architect and guide Data and AI initiatives that empower young people from all walks of life to make informed career and education choices.

I am always keen to connect with others in the field. If you are interested in discussing collaborations on AI Safety research, please feel free to reach out :)