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🌱 Patch AM: What did 40 aspiring AI safety researchers learn in Berkeley?

Be sure to catch Flipper Upper Properties Tour: Real Estate on the Berkeley Patch calendar

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What's up Berkeley! Let's start this morning right by getting caught up on what's going on around town. Keep reading to stay in the loop. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • What did 40 aspiring AI safety researchers learn in Berkeley?
  • How did Berkeley overtake Dublin in the Bay Area growth race?
  • How UC Berkeley research can make your 2026 resolutions actually stick

Also on today's calendar: Flipper Upper Properties Tour: Real Estate and 9 more events.

Find out what's happening in Berkeleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: What did the baby light bulb say to its mom? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Berkeleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Monday: Rain; breezy in the morning, with a high of 55 and low of 49 degrees.
  • Tuesday: Cloudy, temps: high: 60, low: 46.
  • Wednesday: Fog in the morning, with a high of 59 and low of 43 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. The inaugural Redwood Research podcast — LessWrong (lesswrong.com) — Redwood Research, a Berkeley-based AI safety group, is sharing an in-depth podcast on its work, including a three‑week Machine Learning for Alignment Bootcamp that once brought about 40 participants to Berkeley for intensive training. The conversation ranges from P(doom) estimates and AI takeover risks to how local researchers design experiments, build tools, and sometimes regret past projects. It offers an unusually candid look at how a Berkeley-rooted lab is trying to shape safer AI development.
   

2. This Bay Area city was once hailed as the fastest-growing in California. Has it maxed out on development? (mercurynews.com) — Berkeley is cited as one of the Bay Area’s fastest-growing cities, outpacing formerly top-ranked Dublin in recent state population data. The piece mainly explores how Dublin’s once-explosive growth is slowing as it nears build-out, with officials eyeing denser housing, a walkable downtown, and new developments near BART to sustain more moderate, long-term expansion.
   

3. 3 science-backed tips for making New Year's resolutions more fun (spokesman.com) — A UC Berkeley professor’s work on motivation helps explain why fun, social goals are easier to stick with than grim, willpower-only resolutions. Researchers describe how exercising with friends, choosing enjoyable habits, and reframing goals positively can make 2026 resolutions more sustainable. Their studies suggest that liking the process, not just the outcome, is what keeps people going.
   

4. Rob Schneider exposes Hollywood's ‘rot' as he claims conservative actors face industry blacklist (nypost.com) — Rob Schneider recently spoke at UC Berkeley in Berkeley while arguing that conservative actors are increasingly blacklisted in Hollywood, which he says is “dismantling itself.” He describes career fallout after voicing right-leaning views, criticizes what he calls a cultural “rot,” and predicts major studios will shrink as audiences turn to social media content instead of traditional films.
   

📸 Around Berkeley

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Zone 0: Well-Watered Plants Increase Risk
    A recent IBHS (Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety) study looked at how vegetation behaves within the first 5 feet of homes during… (Nextdoor Wildcat Hills)
  • Vegan Restaurants in Berkeley?
    Suggestions? My strictly vegan relative is visiting next week and I need to bring home delicious takeout. Any suggestions? I live in North Berkeley… (Nextdoor Rose District)
  • University of California Berkeley posted a job opening for Competitive Sports Coordinator (4136U), Recreation & Wellbeing - #70519 - 70519 in Berkeley. Apply here.
  • Target posted a job opening for Guest Advocate (Cashier), General Merchandise, Inbound (Stocking) (T3202) in Berkeley. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Berkeley here.

Ok Berkeley! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I love you watts and watts!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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