UC Berkeley has historically had the largest concentration of people thinking about AI existential safety. It’s also closely coupled to the Bay Area safety community. I think you’re possibly underrating Boston universities (i.e. Harvard and Northeastern, as you say the MIT deadline has passed). There is a decent safety community there, in part due to excellent safety-focussed student groups. Toronto is also especially strong on safety imo.
Generally, I would advise thinking more about advisors with aligned interests over universities (this relates to Neel’s comment about interests), though intellectual environment does of course matter. When you apply, you’ll want to name some advisors who you might want to work with on your statement of purpose.
UC Berkeley has historically had the largest concentration of people thinking about AI existential safety. It’s also closely coupled to the Bay Area safety community. I think you’re possibly underrating Boston universities (i.e. Harvard and Northeastern, as you say the MIT deadline has passed). There is a decent safety community there, in part due to excellent safety-focussed student groups. Toronto is also especially strong on safety imo.
Generally, I would advise thinking more about advisors with aligned interests over universities (this relates to Neel’s comment about interests), though intellectual environment does of course matter. When you apply, you’ll want to name some advisors who you might want to work with on your statement of purpose.