Saffron Huang
How I Got Here
Saffron Huang is a research scientist at Anthropic, where her work is focused on investigating the societal implications of artificial intelligence. Prior to joining Anthropic, she worked as a research engineer at DeepMind, contributing to a broad spectrum of AI research, including multi-agent reinforcement learning and human-AI interaction, and was a founding member of the Societal Impacts team at the UK AI Safety Institute. Saffron is also the co-founder of the Collective Intelligence Project, an initiative dedicated to democratizing and strengthening AI development towards the collective good.
From Auckland to Harvard
Saffron Huang grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. She shared “Auckland was a great place to be a kid, there was a lot of time spent outside. I was an independent kid who spent a lot of time reading and browsing the internet.” Saffron moved to the United States twice — her first move was for college.
Saffron recognized that “the U.S. had some of the best schools in the world and beyond just academics, she wanted to experience life outside of New Zealand. The availability of need-blind financial aid in the U.S. made studying there even more appealing. Eventually, she chose to attend Harvard University, where she earned a degree in Applied Mathematics-Computer Science with minors in Government and German. Saffron's second move to the U.S. came after spending time in London. She found the U.S. appealing once again, noting, “It’s such a hub for talent and people that I like.”
DeepMind and the Collective Intelligence Project
After Harvard, Saffron joined DeepMind as a research engineer, diving deep into AI's technical world—working on projects like language models, human-AI interaction, and multi-agent reinforcement learning. But while the technical side fascinated her, Saffron recognized that we need to direct AI more intentionally; this led her to co-found the Collective Intelligence Project (CIP) in 2022, alongside her co-founder Divya. The Collective Intelligence Project (CIP) is an initiative focused on democratizing AI development and ensuring that it serves society equitably. Through this work, Saffron and Divya were named in the 2024 TIME 100 Most Influential People in AI list, and their work earned recognition from The New York Times.
Saffron views the U.S. as a central hub for AI innovation, stating, “The U.S. is the place where a lot of AI companies are based, so naturally, a lot of things happen here.”
Moving to SF — Help from Plymouth
Saffron’s move to San Francisco in May 2024 has significantly impacted both her professional and personal life. After several years of moving around and securing an O-1 visa in August 2023 with help from Lisa and Plymouth, the shift to San Francisco has been a refreshing change. Compared to London, the city feels more laid-back and connected. “I can walk between friends’ houses all the time, and everything happens within the same few square miles,” she notes. On the professional side, it’s been easy to gather people and collaborate. “Ideas move to action really fast here,” she says.
A word to other immigrants
Although Saffron is not a self-proclaimed "advice giver," she encourages more immigrants to look into the O-1 visa. To her surprise, the O-1 is much more obtainable than she initially thought, so don’t be afraid to take the leap to pursue your dreams.