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CarlShulman comments on Existential Risk and Public Relations - Less Wrong
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I see, maybe I should have been more clear. The point of my post is that SIAI members should not express controversial views without substantiating them with abundant evidence. If SIAI provided compelling evidence that Eliezer's work has higher expected value to humanity than what virtually everybody else is doing, then I would think Eliezer's comment appropriate.
As things stand SIAI has not provided such evidence. Eliezer himself may have such evidence, but if so he's either unwilling or unable to share it.
For what definitions of "value to humanity" and "virtually everybody else"?
If "value to humanity" is assessed as in Bostrom's Astronomical Waste paper, that hugely favors effects on existential risk vs alleviating current suffering or increasing present welfare (as such, those also have existential risk effects). Most people don't agree with that view, so asserting that as a privileged frame can be seen as a hostile move (attacking the value systems of others in favor of a value system according to which one's area of focus is especially important). Think of the anger directed at vegetarians, or those who guilt-trip others about not saving African lives. And of course, it's easier to do well on a metric that others are mostly not focused on optimizing.
Dispute about what best reduces existential risk, and annoyance at overly confident statements there is a further issue, but I think that asserting uncommon moral principles (which happen to rank one's activities as much more valuable than most people would rank them) is a big factor on its own.
In case my previous comment was ambiguous, I should say that I agree with you completely on this point. I've been wanting to make a top level post about this general topic for a while. Not sure when I'll get a chance to do so.