I have a suspicion that one of the factors holding back donations from big names (think Peter Thiel level), is the absence of visibility. Both from the point of view that it isn't as "cool" as the Bill and Melinda gates foundation (i.e. to say there isn't already an existing public opinion that issues such as x risk are charity worthy, as opposed to something like say donating for underprivileged children to take part in some sporting event) and that it isn't as "visible" (to continue with the donation to children example, a lot of publicity can be obtained by putting up photos of apparently malnourished children sitting together in a line, full of smiles for the camera).
The distinction I have made between the two is artificial, but I thought it was the best way to illustrate that the disadvantages suffered my FHI, MIRI and that cluster of institutes are happening on two different levels.
However, the second point about visibility is actually a bit of a teeny bit concerning. The MIRI has been criticized for not doing much except publishing papers.That doesn't look good and it is hard for a layman to feel that giving away a portion of his salary just to see a new set of math formulas (looking much like the same formulas he saw last month) a good use of his money, especially if he doesn't see it directly helping anyone out.
I understand that by the nature of the research being undertaken, this may be all that we can hope for, but if there is a better way that MIRI can signal it's accountability, then I think that it should be done. Pronto.
Also, could someone who is so inclined get the math/code that is happening and dumb it down enough so that an average LW-er such as yours truly could make more sense of it?
The MIRI has been criticized for not doing much except publishing papers.
By whom? I mean, what should MIRI do other than publishing research papers?
Many people have an incorrect view of the Future of Humanity Institute's funding situation, so this is a brief note to correct that; think of it as a spiritual successor to this post. As John Maxwell puts it, FHI is "one of the three organizations co-sponsoring LW [and] a group within the University of Oxford's philosophy department that tackles important, large-scale problems for humanity like how to go about reducing existential risk." (If you're not familiar with our work, this article is a nice, readable introduction, and our director, Nick Bostrom, wrote Superintelligence.) Though we are a research institute in an ancient and venerable institution, this does not guarantee funding or long-term stability.