BayAreaLessWrong is a group email list hosted on Google Groups, running for over twelve years now. Most events are posted here, especially if they’re not posted on LessWrong itself. Joining requires approval but getting it is easy and usually fast.
The Bay Area Rationalists Discord server is equally popular, and likewise most events not on LessWrong are posted there. It also has sporadic discussion on various topics, both serious and trivial.
The LessWrong Community page shows events, groups, and individuals in the area. Some groups will post here but not elsewhere.
Dinner in San Francisco (north of the Panhandle) at the group house of Austin Chen, founder emeritus of Manifold, every week, usually with a theme of the night.
Check his Manifold questions page for the next date, or join the Discord server.
Weekly lightly-structured social meetups. Specifically intended as a good way to meet other people in the community as a newcomer.
First week of every month is personal projects coworking, with a variety of other topics in other weeks.
Posted on LessWrong and by Discord and email. Hosted near Alcatraz Ave and Telegraph by Jisk/@Czynski.
Unstructured meetups over dinner at restaurants in Berkeley. Mostly alternates between a few locations on the northwest side of UC Berkeley campus, near Cedar and Shattuck. Typically advertised on the Discord server and Google group.
At Lighthaven in Berkeley on Tuesdays, a weekly meetup for (re)reading the week’s portion of Eliezer’s work that started this whole community. Continues into the evening, usually well past the discussion. Includes dinner, so please RSVP.
Posted on LessWrong a week in advance to allow time to read or reread, by
Probably the longest-running organized event in the Bayesian Area, the Bayesian Choir is open to anyone who can pitch-match and meets every other Sunday in the general North Oakland-Berkeley area. See the Discord server and the introduction doc if you’re interested in joining, and direct questions to Choir Director Blake Jones.
Performance rehearsals for Secular Solstice begin in the fall, with the choir meeting every Sunday. This is usually not a good time to join, but in other parts of the year anyone’s welcome to try it for a few weeks, even without experience. Give it a shot!
David Friedman hosts irregular SSC/ACX meetups at his home in San Jose, on various Saturdays or Sundays. These start early afternoon and run through dinner (provided) and into the evening. RSVPs preferred, for meal planning purposes.
Next meetup time is tracked on a page of his personal website, and typically also announced on the email group and Discord server.
The twice-annual ACX Everywhere meetups, and sporadic other meetups, are advertised several places, but mostly in the Bay Area ACX Meetups Facebook group.
If you want to discover the EA community, the EA’s Guide to Berkeley and The Bay Area and the SF Bay Area EA website are great resources. They both have more links to local groups and other resources, and you can register to the email newsletter.
Events sometimes get advertised on those websites:
SF Bay Area EA event calendar on Luma
East Bay EA Hangout on Facebook
There are two AI safety coworking spaces in Berkeley. They sometime accept visitors, so you can try reaching out or applying via their website:
Most AI Safety events don’t get advertised publicly, so get in contact with people in the community to know what’s happening.
To find spots in group houses, temporary or long term, you can use the Bay Area EA/Rationality Housing Board. The EA Houses spreadsheet also has some entries in the Bay. Lighthaven sometimes has space free for short-term rentals, but it’s primarily an events space and conferences take priority.
It probably works best to ask people in the Bay if they know of housing opportunities, as lots of housing is provided peer-to-peer. Starting with local meetup organizers for a nearby neighborhood may be a good idea.
If you’re looking to run an event of some kind, from a meetup to a workshop to a full week-long conference, and don’t have your own space that’s big enough, consider Lighthaven. They’ve been hosts to Manifest, MATS, and many other smaller workshops, meetups, and events. Rooms inside the complex are available.
Run by Lightcone, the same team responsible for LessWrong, and usually looking for more events, from within the community or outside it.