against "AI risk"

Wei Dai

Why does SI/LW focus so much on AI-FOOM disaster, with apparently much less concern for things like

bio/nano-tech disaster
Malthusian upload scenario
highly destructive war
bad memes/philosophies spreading among humans or posthumans and overriding our values
upload singleton ossifying into a suboptimal form compared to the kind of superintelligence that our universe could support

Why, for example, is lukeprog's strategy sequence titled "AI Risk and Opportunity", instead of "The Singularity, Risks and Opportunities"? Doesn't it seem strange to assume that both the risks and opportunities must be AI related, before the analysis even begins? Given our current state of knowledge, I don't see how we can make such conclusions with any confidence even after a thorough analysis.

SI/LW sometimes gives the impression of being a doomsday cult, and it would help if we didn't concentrate so much on a particular doomsday scenario. (Are there any doomsday cults that say "doom is probably coming, we're not sure how but here are some likely possibilities"?)

Why does SI/LW focus so much on AI-FOOM disaster, with apparently much less concern for things like

bio/nano-tech disaster
Malthusian upload scenario
highly destructive war
bad memes/philosophies spreading among humans or posthumans and overriding our values
upload singleton ossifying into a suboptimal form compared to the kind of superintelligence that our universe could support

I believe that SI is probably the top charity right now

I think that it is currently the leading cause

Charitable giving in the US in 2010: ~$290,890,000,000

SI's annual budget for 2010: ~$500,000

US Peace Corps volunteers in 2010 (3 years of service in a foreign country for sustenance wages): ~8,655

SI volunteers in 2010 (work from home or California hot spots): like 5?

I think you misread "top charity" as "biggest charity" instead of "most important charity".

2XiXiDu14y

I am not sure what you are trying to tell me by those numbers. I think that there are a few valid criticisms regarding SI as an organization. It is also not clear that they could usefully spend more than ~$500,000 at this time. In other words, even if risks from AI was the by far (not just slightly) most important cause, it is not clear that contributing money to SI is better than withholding funds from it it at this point. If for example they can't usefully spend more money at this point, and there is nothing medium probable that you yourself can do against AI risk right now, then you should move on to the next most important cause that needs funding and support it instead.

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