All of Nonlocal's Comments + Replies
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Speaking pragmatically, isn't Tristan aligned with "AI ethics," not AI safety (i.e., X-risk)?
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Why was "Tristan" qualified to attend but not Eliezer? When is this community going to stop putting up with the denigration of its actual experts and the elevation of imposters?
15
Ah... well, one perspective is that the world runs substantially on prestige, and rationalists tend not to play that game. There are not many buttons for "but actually you should get serious about listening to the people who have been repeatedly right about very important things way before anyone else was". That is often barely any currency at all in the games about who gets seats at the table.
From this perspective, if one gives up the pursuit of prestige in favor of actually getting things done, if one does not focus on signaling that they are the person who got it done, one is often not the person who gets to take credit or is listened to about the things.
More broadly, getting angry or bitter about not having the respect and power they think that they have earned seems to me like it can cause people to waste a lot of energy for no results. I would be more willing to lean into parts of me that feel angry or bitter about it if I expected it had a decent shot of paying off in terms of correcting the credit allocation in the long-term. I currently expect it does not.
But for instance, on the current margin it seems to me like people have few good ideas for good AI policies whatsoever. I would be proud for rationalists to figure out and share some actually good policies even if those individuals aren't the people who get the credit for coming up with them or implementing them.
[Disclaimer that there are multiple perspectives on the situation and to be clear if a rationalist saw an opportunity to wield more power in an honorable and truthful way that would not warp their epistemic environment and sanity then I would heartily encourage them to do so.]
1
This comment confuses me.
1. Why is Tristan in quotes? Do you not believe it's his real name?
2. What is the definition of the community you're referring to?
3. I don't think I see any denigration happening --what are you referring to?
4. What makes someone an expert or an imposter in your eyes? In the eyes of the community?
1
Just speaking pragmatically, the Center for Humane Technology has probably built stronger relations with DC policy people compared to MIRI.
I think you're confusing aging with the mere passage of time. You haven't forgotten, I trust, that aging is to be destroyed?