Faith, Hope, and Singularity: Entering the Matrix with New York’s Futurist Set
To my knowledge LessWrong hasn't received a great deal of media coverage. So, I was surprised when I came across an article via a Facebook friend which also appeared on the cover of the New York Observer today. However, I was disappointed upon reading it, as I don't think it is an accurate reflection of the community. It certainly doesn't reflect my experience with the LW communities in Toronto and Waterloo.
I thought it would be interesting to see what the broader LessWrong community thought about this article. I think it would make for a good discussion.
Possible conversation topics:
- This article will likely reach many people that have never heard of LessWrong before. Is this a good introduction to LessWrong for those people?
- Does this article give an accurate characterization of the LessWrong community?
Edit 1: Added some clarification about my view on the article.
Edit 2: Re-added link using “nofollow” attribute.
As noted elsewhere, the article is generally accurate and Eliezer conceded "hatchet job" wasn't really the right word. But "we" includes most of the people featured in the article, many of whom did not know there was a reporter at a party.
Yes, that's a good point. Recording people without their knowledge, and then publishing the article without their consent, is clearly unethical. That said, though, once the cat is out of the bag, attempting to cram it back in is futile.
I've said it before: what the SIAI needs are some real, tangible accomplishments. Then, Eliezer could just say, "Yeah, our cuddle puddles are sensational and all, but guess what ? You know about that cancer vaccine that got FDA-approved last week ? We wrote the software that built it. How do you like dem apples ?"
That was a bit of a hyperbole, of course, but hopefully the idea is clear.