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Alexei comments on The True Rejection Challenge - Less Wrong
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I have the same problem with knowing I should work on existential risk mitigation, but I don't. (Not directly, at least. Ideally I would do FAI related research.)
My fear is that I won't be good at it and/or I won't like it. It'll end up as a waste of my time and money, and I won't contribute very much, or may be even worse, I'll waste other people's time and resources.
My impression - and admittedly this is just an impression - is that there are few enough x-risk workers that someone doesn't have to be especially good at doing x-risk work to be able to do more good on the margin as an x-risk worker compared to doing other things. This seems to be especially true for people who are good at motivating themselves (so that they don't need a lot of managerial support) and who are willing to do things that aren't particularly glamorous (but it's probably true even when neither of those is the case, so don't use that as an excuse).
"I might not like it" sounds like a fully general argument to me, and there are cheap tests you can do on the other issues. I suggest sending a resume to SIAI or someplace similar; if they think you wouldn't be useful there, you're at least no worse off than you are now.
Thanks, that's the point I've also been considering, but I don't know how true it is. I am going to (and already started to) talk to people at SIAI and see if they could use my help for anything.
Is this not working preventing you from doing anything to reduce existential risk mitigation (donation etc.)?
No, I still donate and I am doing my best to raise the sanity waterline. But I think AdeleneDawner brought up a good point: there might not be enough x-risk workers to justify not doing it if I can.