Like many people, I'm increasingly concerned about the risks of superintelligent AI. This challenge of developing safe and humane AI is both urgent and deeply complex; we need to pursue many strategies at once, not knowing which in the end will be most useful or relevant. Not being a researcher or policy expert, the best contribution I can give is to help people in critical roles pursue this critical human effort. If you are working to reduce the threat of extinction or dystopia due to AI, I would love to hear from you.
While the particulars of this global risk are unique, you face accentuated forms of classic leadership challenges: balancing depth with speed, separating signal from noise, and rallying diverse stakeholders around a common cause. These are challenges I've long helped people navigate. Let's make explicit the heuristics that guide when things get hard and update the ones that are no longer serving you.
Specific topics that often come up with my AI Safety clients:
Our conversations move fluidly between the concrete questions of the day and the deeper patterns that shape them. I help each client find their developmental frontier and stay there, strengthening the metaskills that unlock progress across domains.
I have followed AI capabilities and safety research for years, and know enough about the field to appreciate the challenges and nuances of your work. I try to be optimistic about the power of AI to make a better world and clear-eyed about the work involved in getting there. If you are in the trenches of this tremendous human challenge, I'd love to support you.
Calls to action:
- You can learn more about me in my bio, or in Claude's assessment of me as a coach
- You can reach out to me here with questions or go ahead and schedule a complimentary intro call
- From time to time, I offer pro bono coaching to particularly well leveraged or particularly cash-strapped AI Safety professionals. If that's you, apply for one of my pro bono packages here
Yotam’s IFS-based approach is exceptionally well suited to people in high-impact, mission-driven careers navigating uncertain futures. He absorbs complex situations with remarkable speed and precision, identifies dynamics others miss, and works collaboratively and empathetically toward breakthroughs. His rare depth and range make him a grounding and transformative thought partner for the ambitious and agentic.
- Patricia Paskov, Evals and Policy Researcher at RAND
With a previous highly-rated coach, Internal Family Systems "parts work" didn't work for me (I found it fake and difficult), but with Yotam it has been highly productive. I found that he understood my parts well, facilitated my own understanding of them, helped them work together better, and was generally exceptionally competent and caring in his work.
- Alex Mallen, Member of Technical Staff, Redwood Research
I started working with Yotam 1.5 years into my non-profit startup journey as a sole-founder, having previously co-founded and exited a for-profit startup. We initially worked on prioritization of work, team management, and communication, and then transitioned into more foundational, underlying mental processes and challenges. Thanks to Yotam's coaching, I was able to think more productively and compassionately about challenges and decisions and communicate more effectively with team members.
I can imagine that you, like me, are facing struggles you know you'd like to tackle, and wondering whether someone like Yotam really could help. So I say to you: Work. With. Yotam. If you are doubting whether it’s worth messaging him: It is. Do it. I mean it.
- Karl Koch, Founder, AI Whistleblower Initiative
I came to Yotam during a transition from COO to CEO and was navigating uncertainty about stepping into the role. Over several weeks, he helped me build genuine self-assurance as a leader.
Yotam introduced me to Internal Family Systems, which was entirely new to me. What impressed me was how versatile the method turned out to be. He applied it across very different scenarios, and when I couldn't access parts on my own, he guided me there with skill and patience. He also used the Leadership Circle Profile as a 360 feedback tool, which revealed blind spots I hadn't expected and which helped be become better calibrated.
For anyone in the AI Safety or Effective Altruism space, Yotam naturally understands the reasoning styles common in these communities, which builds trust and quick shared understanding.
He's clearly very experienced, deeply empathetic, and I can highly recommend him as a leadership coach.
- Patrick Gruban, Interim CEO, Successif
Yotam has been an invaluable ally on my journey toward stepping more into my own desires and motivations. He is incredibly perceptive and insightful while giving me space to find my own voice and wisdom. His grounded presence, attunement, and guidance allowed me to start integrating very vulnerable parts of myself, which has made me feel more whole. I expect to benefit from this for a long time, in both my professional and personal life. I am incredibly grateful that I got to work with Yotam.
- Stefan Torges, Head of Strategic Initiatives, Forethought