I think that X-risk reduction projects also have a problem with measurement!
However, measuring the extent to which you’ve reduced X-risk is a lot harder than measuring whether students have taken some kind of altruistic action: in the latter case, you can just ask the students (and maybe give them an incentive to reply).
Thus, if someone wants me to donate to their “EA education project”, I’m probably going to care more about direct outcome measurement than I would if I were asked to support an X-risk project, because I think good measurement is more achievable. (I’d hold the X-risk project to other standards, some of which wouldn’t apply to an education project.)
I think that X-risk reduction projects also have a problem with measurement!
However, measuring the extent to which you’ve reduced X-risk is a lot harder than measuring whether students have taken some kind of altruistic action: in the latter case, you can just ask the students (and maybe give them an incentive to reply).
Thus, if someone wants me to donate to their “EA education project”, I’m probably going to care more about direct outcome measurement than I would if I were asked to support an X-risk project, because I think good measurement is more achievable. (I’d hold the X-risk project to other standards, some of which wouldn’t apply to an education project.)