I don’t think anyone heavily involved in global health stuff has ever said they endorse scientific racism. But I don’t think this is true about eugenics. Of the two people most associated with the founding of GWWC, you’ve criticized Will yourself here on the grounds that you thought some of the stuff he says in WWOTF about cloning scientific geniuses is too eugenicist. And Toby Ord was Bostrom’s co-author on a paper defending attempts to increase the average IQ, through genetic engineering, that I’m guessing you would oppose: https://nickbostrom.com/ethics/statusquo.pdf
(As I’ve said elsewhere, I have more complicated feelings about genetic enhancement. I think it is potentially beneficial, but also tends to be correlated with bad politics, and it could be the negative social effects of allowing it outweigh the benefits.)
As I’ve said elsewhere, I have more complicated feelings about genetic enhancement. I think it is potentially beneficial, but also tends to be correlated with bad politics, and it could be the negative social effects of allowing it outweigh the benefits.
I appreciate you keeping on open mind on genetic enhancement (i.e., not grouping it with racism and fascism, or immediately calling for it to be banned). Nevertheless, it fills me with a sense of hopelessness to consider that one of the most thoughtful groups of people on Earth (i.e., EAs) might still realistically decide to ban the discussion of human genetic enhancement (I’m assuming that’s the implied alternative to “allowing it”), on the grounds that it “tends to be correlated with bad politics”.
When I first heard about the idea of greater than human intelligence (i.e., superintelligence), I imagined that humanity would approach it as one of the most important strategic decision we’ll ever face, and there would be worldwide extensive debates about the relative merits of each possible route to achieving that, such as AI and human genetic enhancement. Your comment represents such a divergence from that vision, and occurring in a group like this...
If even we shy away from discussing a potentially world-altering technology simply because of its political baggage, what hope is there for broader society to engage in nuanced, good-faith conversations about these issues?
Thanks for correcting me.
I do believe they’re much less involved in these things nowadays, but I might be wrong.
I indeed haven’t seen any expression of racism from either, but I chose carefully to write “racist/euginicist” before for this kind of reason exactly. I personally believe even discussing such interventions in the way that they have been in EA has risks (of promoting racist policies by individuals, organizations, governments) that far outweigh any benefits. Such a discussion might be possible privately between people who all know each other very well and can trust each other’s good intentions, but otherwise it is too dangerous.
I don’t think the movement can be ascribed a stance on this. What I said, rather, is:
And I stand behind this. They just aren’t the people responsible for the interventions you mentioned.
I don’t think anyone heavily involved in global health stuff has ever said they endorse scientific racism. But I don’t think this is true about eugenics. Of the two people most associated with the founding of GWWC, you’ve criticized Will yourself here on the grounds that you thought some of the stuff he says in WWOTF about cloning scientific geniuses is too eugenicist. And Toby Ord was Bostrom’s co-author on a paper defending attempts to increase the average IQ, through genetic engineering, that I’m guessing you would oppose: https://nickbostrom.com/ethics/statusquo.pdf
(As I’ve said elsewhere, I have more complicated feelings about genetic enhancement. I think it is potentially beneficial, but also tends to be correlated with bad politics, and it could be the negative social effects of allowing it outweigh the benefits.)
I appreciate you keeping on open mind on genetic enhancement (i.e., not grouping it with racism and fascism, or immediately calling for it to be banned). Nevertheless, it fills me with a sense of hopelessness to consider that one of the most thoughtful groups of people on Earth (i.e., EAs) might still realistically decide to ban the discussion of human genetic enhancement (I’m assuming that’s the implied alternative to “allowing it”), on the grounds that it “tends to be correlated with bad politics”.
When I first heard about the idea of greater than human intelligence (i.e., superintelligence), I imagined that humanity would approach it as one of the most important strategic decision we’ll ever face, and there would be worldwide extensive debates about the relative merits of each possible route to achieving that, such as AI and human genetic enhancement. Your comment represents such a divergence from that vision, and occurring in a group like this...
If even we shy away from discussing a potentially world-altering technology simply because of its political baggage, what hope is there for broader society to engage in nuanced, good-faith conversations about these issues?
Thanks for correcting me. I do believe they’re much less involved in these things nowadays, but I might be wrong.
I indeed haven’t seen any expression of racism from either, but I chose carefully to write “racist/euginicist” before for this kind of reason exactly. I personally believe even discussing such interventions in the way that they have been in EA has risks (of promoting racist policies by individuals, organizations, governments) that far outweigh any benefits. Such a discussion might be possible privately between people who all know each other very well and can trust each other’s good intentions, but otherwise it is too dangerous.