Random anecadata on a very specific instance: I worked with Drew to make a Most Important Century writing prize. I enjoyed our conversations and we worked well together — Drew was nice and ambitious. I heard concerns about Nonlinear at this time, but never had anything suspect come up.
To put it more strongly: I would like to make clear that I have never heard any claims of improper conduct by Drew Spartz (in relation to the events discussed in this post or otherwise).
Thanks, I think taking the time to make this stronger phrasing publicly is quite valuable (and seems to match what everyone else is saying so far). It’s important that we not engage in guilt-by-association.
My understanding (definitely fallible, but I’ve been quite engaged in this case, and am one of the people Ben interviewed) has been that Alice and Chloe are not concerned about this, and in fact that they both wish to insulate Drew from any negative consequences. This seems to me like an informative and important consideration. (It also gives me reason to think that the benefits of gaining more information about this are less likely to be worth the costs.)
I certainly don’t think it suggests he’s a bad actor, but it seems reasonable to consider it improper conduct with a small organization of people living and working together—even if Alice and Chloe don’t see it as an issue. I don’t have a strong view one way or the other, but it seemed worth flagging in the context of your claim .
Appreciate you saying this, Michel. As you can imagine, it’s been rough. Perhaps accidentally, this post seems to often lump me in with situations I wasn’t really a part of.
I second this—I have met Drew at multiple conferences and my experiences with him have only been positive. He has always been very nice to talk to. I have also heard others in EA circles tell their anecdotes on him and nobody has anything bad to say whatsoever.
Hi Zeynep, to ensure transparency, could you kindly confirm whether you were prompted by any Nonlinear team members to make this comment or if you were made aware of this discussion by them?
Hi Morpheus, I was not asked by anyone to make the comment! I was made aware of this discussion by another EA who sent me a link to this post. I felt prompted to share my experiences as very little was written about him, yet he was still referenced.
Random anecadata on a very specific instance: I worked with Drew to make a Most Important Century writing prize. I enjoyed our conversations and we worked well together — Drew was nice and ambitious. I heard concerns about Nonlinear at this time, but never had anything suspect come up.
To put it more strongly: I would like to make clear that I have never heard any claims of improper conduct by Drew Spartz (in relation to the events discussed in this post or otherwise).
Thanks, I think taking the time to make this stronger phrasing publicly is quite valuable (and seems to match what everyone else is saying so far). It’s important that we not engage in guilt-by-association.
Agreed. I would have wanted the post itself to make this more clear.
The article alleges he was dating an employee who seems to have been a subborniate, which someone might claim is improper conduct.
Repost from LW:
My understanding (definitely fallible, but I’ve been quite engaged in this case, and am one of the people Ben interviewed) has been that Alice and Chloe are not concerned about this, and in fact that they both wish to insulate Drew from any negative consequences. This seems to me like an informative and important consideration. (It also gives me reason to think that the benefits of gaining more information about this are less likely to be worth the costs.)
I certainly don’t think it suggests he’s a bad actor, but it seems reasonable to consider it improper conduct with a small organization of people living and working together—even if Alice and Chloe don’t see it as an issue. I don’t have a strong view one way or the other, but it seemed worth flagging in the context of your claim .
Appreciate you saying this, Michel. As you can imagine, it’s been rough. Perhaps accidentally, this post seems to often lump me in with situations I wasn’t really a part of.
I similarly had a positive experience with Drew creating The Econ Theory AI Alignment Prize. I was not prompted by anyone to comment on this.
I second this—I have met Drew at multiple conferences and my experiences with him have only been positive. He has always been very nice to talk to. I have also heard others in EA circles tell their anecdotes on him and nobody has anything bad to say whatsoever.
Hi Zeynep, to ensure transparency, could you kindly confirm whether you were prompted by any Nonlinear team members to make this comment or if you were made aware of this discussion by them?
Hi Morpheus, I was not asked by anyone to make the comment! I was made aware of this discussion by another EA who sent me a link to this post. I felt prompted to share my experiences as very little was written about him, yet he was still referenced.