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Rune comments on Singularity Institute $100K Challenge Grant / 2009 Donations Reminder - Less Wrong
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Comments (13)
I think the Methuselah Foundation's credit card idea might also be a good way to receive donations without people actively donating money. Probably also buys more warm fuzzies per dollar, since you can feel good every time you use your credit card.
I suspect that's not a good thing, not something an SIAI supporter deserves, and certainly not something that encourages rational decision-making which I'd prefer SIAI to encourage on general principle.
Having said that, if they did it I'd probably get one.
Agreed. And I think it's important to consider just how small 1% really is. I doubt the fuzzies associated with using the credit card would actually be as small as 1% of the fuzzies associated with a 100% donation -- fuzzies just don't have high enough resolution. So I would fear, a la scope insensitivity, people getting more fuzzies from the credit card than are actually deserved from the donation. If that's necessary in order for the fuzzies to exceed a threshold for carrying out the donation, so be it; but usually the problem is in the other direction: People get too many fuzzies from doing too little and so end up not doing enough.
I would as well. I've been looking for ways to brand / affiliate myself with SIAI, and there does not seem to be much available beyond the t-shirt.
If you expect the emotion to be appropriate to the truth of the situation, then it's a good thing to have that emotion.
My problem isn't in giving people fuzzies as a reward for them giving SIAI 1% of something.
My problem's with this adding to people's already super-stimulated-by-clever-marketers set of psychological rewards and excuses-to-self for running up enormous credit card bills buying stuff they don't need with money that could be put to better use by, say, giving SIAI more than 1% of something.
It could also be seen as a kind of rational precommitment - if you know that you want to donate to the SIAI, but can never muster the effort to get it done, this would be a good thing to do. Feeling good after using your credit card is just a bonus.
I think this would be the right way to think about it; as a willpower hack.
If you don't have a problem donating right now, better just donate the amount you want to give without things like credit cards and such. But if you want to donate but aren't doing it, this might help (though it would probably be best to work directly on the problem first).
Those confident in their willpower can get a credit card with 2% cash back rebate and just commit to donating the rebate. Methuselah Foundation's card only gives a 1% donation.
An interesting corollary: you can use that credit card to donate to the SIAI and still receive the cash back, effectively making your donation 2% larger, or hacking your willpower in a similar way as that described by Bo102010, but this time by reducing the cost of your donation.