Tobias H

Omelas Is Perfectly Misread

The Standard Reading If you've heard of Le Guin's ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas’, you probably know the basic idea. It's a go-to story for discussions of utilitarianism and its downsides. A paper calls it “the infamous objection brought up by Ursula Le Guin”. It shows up in university ‘Criticism of Utilitarianism' syllabi and is used for classroom material alongside the Trolley Problem. The story is often also more broadly read as a parable about global inequality, the comfortable rich countries built on the suffering of the poor, and our decision to not walk away from our own complicity. If you haven't read ‘Omelas’, I suggest you stop here and read it now[1]. It's a short 5-page read, and I find it beautifully written and worth reading. The rest of this post will contain spoilers. The popular reading goes something like: Omelas is a perfect city whose happiness depends on the extreme suffering of a single child. Most citizens accept this trade-off, but some can't stomach it and walk away. The Correct (?) Reading Le Guin spends well over half the story describing Omelas before the child appears. She describes the summer festival, the bright towers, the bells, the processions, the horse race. Beautiful stuff. She anticipates your scepticism, that you're expecting something dark lurking underneath. But no: "They did not use swords, or keep slaves. They were not barbarians." Then comes the first part of the story everyone seems to skip over: "The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting." This is Le Guin calling out us readers directly, that we can’t accept descriptions of unsullied happiness as real. She tries again to describe this utopia. Maybe Omelas has technology? Or maybe not? "As you like it." She's almost begging you to help her build a version of this city you’ll accept, even offering to throw in an orgy i

221Oct 2, 2025

Tobias H

Message

628

Should I Apply to a 3.5% Acceptance-Rate Fellowship? A Simple EV Calculator

Many AI safety programs have acceptance rates in the 1–5% range. That can make it hard to tell when applying is actually worth your time. In this post, we: * Sketch a simple expected value (EV) model for “should I apply?” * Illustrate the model using our upcoming pivotal research...

Nov 21, 202516

9+ weeks of mentored AI safety research in London – Pivotal Research Fellowship

TL;DR: 9-week, full-time AI safety research fellowship in London. Work closely with mentors from leading orgs such as Google DeepMind, Redwood Research, SecureBio, etc. Receive a £6-8k stipend, £2k accommodation + travel support, £2.5k+ compute, co-working (with meals) at LISA. ~70% of recent fellows continued on fully-funded extensions (up to...

Nov 12, 20259

Omelas Is Perfectly Misread

Oct 2, 2025221

2025 Q3 Pivotal Research Fellowship: Applications Open

We are now accepting applications for the Pivotal 2025 Q3 Research Fellowship, a 9-week, fully funded research program for technical AI safety, AI governance and policy, technical AI governance, and AI-Bio. Dates: June 30 – August 29, 2025 Location: London, at the London Initiative for Safe AI (LISA) Deadline: Wednesday,...

Mar 22, 20254

2025 Q1 Pivotal Research Fellowship (Technical & Policy)

We’re excited to announce that applications are now open for our 2025 Q1 Pivotal Research Fellowship, a 9-week program designed to enable promising researchers to produce impactful research and accelerate their careers in technical AI safety, AI governance, and biosecurity. About the Fellowship The Pivotal Research Fellowship is hosted in...

Nov 12, 20247

Apply to the Pivotal Research Fellowship (AI Safety & Biosecurity)

The Swiss Existential Risk Initiative (CHERI) is now called Pivotal Research, and the CHERI research fellowship is now the Pivotal Research Fellowship. Apply for the Pivotal Research Fellowship this summer in London to research global catastrophic risks (GCR) with experienced mentors on technical AI safety, AI governance, biosecurity & pandemic...

Apr 10, 202418

Announcing the Swiss Existential Risk Initiative (CHERI) 2023 Research Fellowship

The Swiss Existential Risk Initiative (CHERI) is excited to announce the launch of its 2023 Research Fellowship, an 8-week in-person program focused on global catastrophic risk research. The fellowship will take place from July 3rd to August 27th, 2023, in the beautiful city of Geneva, Switzerland. This year, we are...

Mar 27, 20233

Load More (7/8)

LESSWRONG
LW

LESSWRONG
LW

Tobias H

Tobias H

Tobias H

Omelas Is Perfectly Misread

Trying to Keep the Garden Well

Apply to the Pivotal Research Fellowship (AI Safety & Biosecurity)

Should I Apply to a 3.5% Acceptance-Rate Fellowship? A Simple EV Calculator

Tobias H

Should I Apply to a 3.5% Acceptance-Rate Fellowship? A Simple EV Calculator

9+ weeks of mentored AI safety research in London – Pivotal Research Fellowship

Omelas Is Perfectly Misread

2025 Q3 Pivotal Research Fellowship: Applications Open

2025 Q1 Pivotal Research Fellowship (Technical & Policy)

Apply to the Pivotal Research Fellowship (AI Safety & Biosecurity)

Announcing the Swiss Existential Risk Initiative (CHERI) 2023 Research Fellowship

Omelas Is Perfectly Misread

Trying to Keep the Garden Well

Apply to the Pivotal Research Fellowship (AI Safety & Biosecurity)

Should I Apply to a 3.5% Acceptance-Rate Fellowship? A Simple EV Calculator

Should I Apply to a 3.5% Acceptance-Rate Fellowship? A Simple EV Calculator

9+ weeks of mentored AI safety research in London – Pivotal Research Fellowship

Omelas Is Perfectly Misread

2025 Q3 Pivotal Research Fellowship: Applications Open

2025 Q1 Pivotal Research Fellowship (Technical & Policy)

Apply to the Pivotal Research Fellowship (AI Safety & Biosecurity)

Announcing the Swiss Existential Risk Initiative (CHERI) 2023 Research Fellowship