Bottlenecks Institute

I serve as AI & Technology Advisor for Bottlenecks Institute, a research organization dedicated to problem selection and prioritization across critical domains including energy, climate, biotech, and AI.

Mission & Approach

Bottlenecks Institute addresses one of the most fundamental challenges in advancing human progress: identifying and prioritizing the right problems to solve. Our mission is to:

Collect comprehensive data about barriers to progress across different fields
Make it easy to find the most impactful bottlenecks to address
Support groups working to solve these identified barriers

Methodology

Our approach combines rigorous research methods:

Expert surveys to gather insights from domain specialists
AI-based tooling that identifies bottlenecks from industry reports and sectoral roadmaps
Peer review process ensuring quality and accuracy
Periodic ranking by experts for relative importance assessment

Bottleneck Categories

We organize barriers to progress across six key dimensions:

Coordination & Information

Standards, protocols, and pooling resources for collective benefit

Talent

Skills gap, workforce challenges, and the identification and support of outliers

Cultural

Social structures, societal norms, and industry dynamics that influence adoption and implementation

Technical

Technological limitations, engineering challenges, and basic research

Market

Demand signals, supply chains, and research commercialization

Regulatory

Policies, legislation, and legal requirements

Impact & Vision

By systematically identifying and prioritizing bottlenecks, we help direct limited resources and attention toward the most impactful interventions. This work is essential for accelerating progress on humanity's greatest challenges, from climate change to advancing AI safety and capability.

Get Involved

Visit the Bottlenecks Repository to explore our curated collection of barriers to progress, suggest new bottlenecks, or learn how you can contribute to breaking down the obstacles that limit human flourishing.