Organization overview
What Orthogonal does
Orthogonal (orxl.org) is a nonprofit AI alignment research organization focused on “agent foundations” and, specifically, formal-goal alignment. It frames alignment as constructing a coherent, fully formal target (rather than a goal stated in natural language) and designing an AI decision process that reliably pursues that formal goal under plausible assumptions about the world. Orthogonal’s work has emphasized outer-alignment / formal-goal alignment, with its current flagship candidate described as QACI (Question-Answer Counterfactual Interval) and related theory-of-change posts. In addition to publishing technical writeups, Orthogonal has reported running fellowships and in-person retreats as part of its program service activities.