Why AI Safety Needs Founders – Ryan Kidd

In this episode, Dewi speaks with Ryan Kidd, an Australian quantum physicist who pivoted from academia to become co-executive director of MATS (ML Alignment & Theory Scholars), one of the field's most ambitious AI safety talent pipelines. Ryan shares his journey from Brisbane to Berkeley—through depression, long COVID, and a PhD he almost didn't finish—and how discovering effective altruism during his doctorate redirected his career entirely. He talks about the turning point when he realized his impact would be greater building infrastructure than publishing papers, the qualities that make someone a great researcher, and why the field desperately needs more "amplifiers" (people who can bridge technical work with operations and strategy). Ryan also reflects on MATS' explosive growth from 15 scholars to 175 fellows, the organization's plans to 10x again, and his vision for a coordinated, careful AI rollout that preserves human agency and meaning. This conversation digs into the realities of field-building at scale, the undervalued role of founders in AI safety, and what it takes to accelerate an entire generation of researchers toward building systems we can actually trust. Apply to the Mats Summer 2026 Program - https://www.matsprogram.org/program/s...