First one has to identify characteristics that could potentially be used to cast a damaging light on this community. Here the most obvious possibility seems to be to portray the SIAI, together with LessWrong, as a cult.

Probably the other main possibilities that spring to my mind are:

• That it is a luddite organisation;

• That it is an unscrupulous machine intelligence outfit masquerading as a luddite organisation for marketing reasons;

• That it has fallen too far behind to have much chance of meeting its goals;

• That it is too perfectionist to have much chance of meeting its goals;

• That its lack of experience and secretive culture are a bad combination.