I'm interested. What is it that means people want to pair up, rather than just individually giving as much as they can? If there's a pool of potential donors who are limited by "akrasia" then yes, that's a totally awesome idea.
I'll see if anyone at SIAI is interested and maybe discuss with you how it could be implemented.
I think you're right, that akrasia would be one of the biggest reasons. There's also the possibility that there aren't enough applause lights for giving, and that thus giving to the SIAI just doesn't feel as good as it should. And since LW doesn't press my superstimulus buttons the way a video game does, it hurts more to pay for 20 hours of entertainment here than it does to pay for, say, Portal 2, which didn't even provide 20 hours of fun (but oh what fun...).
I've tried to set up donation matching with friends before. Most are just not interested. The on...
atucker wants to save the world.
ciphergoth wants to save the world.
Dorikka wants to save the world.
Eliezer_Yudkowsky wants to save the world.
I want to save the world.
Kaj_Sotala wants to save the world.
lincolnquirk wants to save the world.
Louie wants to save the world.
paulfchristiano wants to save the world.
Psy-Kosh wants to save the world.
Clearly the list I've given is incomplete. I imagine most members of the Singularity Institute belong here; otherwise their motives are pretty baffling. But equally clearly, the list will not include everyone.
What's my point? My point is that these people should be cooperating. But we can't cooperate unless we know who we are. If you feel your name belongs on this list then add a top-level comment to this thread, and feel free to add any information about what this means to you personally or what plans you have. Or it's enough just to say, "I want to save the world".
This time, no-one's signing up for anything. I'm just doing this to let you know that you're not alone. But maybe some of us can find somewhere to talk that's a little quieter.