ODYSSEY
ODYSSEY is a 5-day, multi-track conference bringing together researchers in theoretical AI alignment.
August 25-29, 2025 in Berkeley, California
Apply by June 1, 2025
Submit to the Proceedings by June 25, 2025
Dedicated to building strong scientific foundations for AI safety.
Program and Unconference Format
ODYSSEY is a 100+ person conference about alignment with a mathematical focus. ODYSSEY will feature an unconference format—meaning that participants can propose and lead their own sessions. We believe that this is the best way to release the latent creative energies in everyone attending.
The ILIAD conferences are the premier gathering for all things theory and alignment. Topics include: Singular Learning Theory, Agent Foundations, Causal Incentives, Computational Mechanics, Safety-by-Debate, Scalable Oversight and more.
To get a better sense of what might happen, you can view the schedule for last year’s ILIAD conference here.
ODYSSEY Confirmed Attendees:
Adam Shai (Simplex)
Dan Murfet (University of Melbourne)
James Crutchfield (Complexity Sciences Center, UC Davis)
John Wentworth
Richard Ngo
Simon DeDeo (Carnegie Mellon, Santa Fe institute)
And more…
Proceedings
Submissions to Proceedings of ILIAD 2: ODYSSEY are now open. Submissions will be peer reviewed, and provisionally accepted papers will be invited to give a featured talk at ODYSSEY. If you would like to submit a manuscript to the Proceedings, make sure to apply to the conference as only accepted attendees may make a submission. The submission deadline is June 25.
FAQ
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ODYSSEY is a 5-day conference bringing together 100+ researchers to build scientific foundations for AI alignment. ODYSSEY is the 2nd iteration of ILIAD Conference, which was first held in the summer of 2024.
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ODYSSEY will take place August 25-29, 2025 at Lighthaven in Berkeley, California.
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We encourage you to apply if you are interested in mathematical approaches to AI alignment.
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The deadline to apply to ODYSSEY is June 1, 2025.
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ODYSSEY is free to attend.
Financial support for accommodation & travel are available on a needs basis. We may not be able to offer support to everyone who requests it.
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The venue has a limited number of bedrooms onsite which may be booked by attendees.
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We have a limited budget to reimburse travel expenses and accommodations for attendees. After your application is accepted, you will receive more information about how to request financial support. We may not be able to provide support to everyone who requests it or provide the full amount requested.