Project summary:

I'm seeking funding to attend the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI (IASEAI) Conference 2026 in Paris (February 24-26), where I was invited based on my talk proposal "AI Nutrition Labels For Everyone". This invitation-only conference convenes Nobel Laureates and leading AI safety and ethics researchers, committed to ensuring that AI technologies are safe, ethical, and beneficial.

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

Two interconnected goals:

1. Research Advancement - AI Nutrition Labels

Just as nutrition labels transformed food safety through consumer choice, my AI Nutrition Labels framework aims to do the same for AI governance. Currently, everyday consumers cannot make informed choices about AI systems shaping their lives, 80-page model cards remain inaccessible, creating an accountability vacuum. At IASEAI'26, I will:

• Validate my framework with AI transparency researchers and refine Performance Value, Safety Value, and environmental impact measurements
• Connect with governance experts, ISO specialists, policymakers, and practitioners to identify regulatory implementation pathways as IASEAI intends to become a liaison organization for standards-forming bodies

When people can choose AI products based on understandable labels, companies compete on safety and sustainability, not just capability. This consumer-driven accountability reduces catastrophic risk alongside technical safety work.

2. Expanding AI Risk Literacy Network:

As an AI Product Manager, I've witnessed "safety later" culture at US AI startups and "blinded optimism" in India. Through "On AIR with Aashka," I'm building AI risk literacy infrastructure for audiences primarily in India (56%), where AI safety discourse barely exists. IASEAI'26 concentrates expertise from Nobel Laureates and pioneering researchers whose voices can reshape risk perception in underserved markets. These connections let me amplify AI safety insights to my audience. Previous podcast episodes redirected students toward AI safety careers; scaling this pipeline is critical when the field represents 0.2% of research but addresses 100% of humanity's AI existential risk. These connections also provide access to potential funders who can help me sustain this work beyond personal savings.

How will this funding be used?

Total amount = $3,035.60

IASEAI Conference registration cost = $525

Flight tickets = $1,322.49

Hostel/Hotel accommodation cost = $495.31

Local travel costs incl. Uber, public transport, etc = $296.54

Visa fees = $106.75

Travel Insurance = $13.15

Contingency (10% of total) = $275.89

More details here

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

Aashka Patel

Self-funded through personal savings, I've built (earliest to latest):

• AI Safety comics used in Bay Area schools for K-12 education in 2023
• My Bug Bounty work at Anthropic, identifying CBRN threats, keeps me grounded in frontier AI risks
• Podcast episodes featuring White House AI policy experts, US Senate advisors, sustainability researchers, AI Ethics Professors, etc, building an informed community excited about AI's benefits while aware of its risks
• AI Nutrition Labels with ISO experts: transparency that excludes everyday consumers cannot create democratic accountability for safe AI
• "AI Ki Adalat," a video series examining real AI incidents through courtroom storytelling to inspire Indian youth toward safety careers, not doomerism
• AI Governance corporate and college sessions at HSBC India, DataCamp, etc
• "Mummy Padhegi AI," a tea-time video series for Indian mothers, because as Napoleon said, "Give me an educated mother, and I shall promise you the birth of a civilized nation" (Yet to be released)
• AI Championship for Indian students, making AI concepts accessible through analogy-based learning (in progress)

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

Most likely cause: Insufficient funding, forcing me to decline my dream conference invitation.Outcomes if unable to attend:

• Miss validation opportunity for AI Nutrition Labels with global experts and researchers at the critical development stage
• Lose concentrated access to Nobel Laureates and researchers whose insights could redirect hundreds of students toward safety careers in underserved markets
• Delay implementation pathways for a consumer-accessible AI Nutrition Label framework
• Continue operating on personal savings without connections to potential sustainable funders

The work continues regardless, but IASEAI represents a rare concentration of exactly the expertise needed to scale impact from independent research to sustainable AI risk literacy infrastructure.

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

Zero external funding.

Entirely self-funded through personal savings. Currently operating on a ₹46,858 (~$511) runway, approximately 4 months remaining.

Active grant applications:

• Coefficient Giving (Applied)
• EA Long-Term Future Fund (Applying)

No confirmations yet. This conference timing (February 24-26) requires faster resolution than typical grant cycles of Coefficient Giving and EA LTFF. I need to know by February 10 at the latest and February 3rd (ideally) to complete visa processing on time (ideally takes 10-15 days) and book international flights from India at reasonable rates.

I believe in the idea of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - The whole world is like one (my) family" and don’t want to jeopardize the very existence of my family due to unsafe AI advancement 🌻

Any support would make a huge huge huge difference ❤️

Thanks a ton in advance,

Aashka Patel 🤗