I think the counterfactual shouldn’t be seen as being an employee, it should be seen as being a leader—that’s what’s wrong—that leaders aren’t really easily replacable. Starting a new charity or project that wouldn’t have happened otherwise should perhaps be the counterfactual. Now we can start talking about the relative scarcity of funds against ideas against quality execution and see where the gap is and send marginal EA talent in that direction? Doesn’t make that much sense to put your career into executing someone else’s plan that would have been done anyway so its a bit of a straw man against ETG?
I think the counterfactual shouldn’t be seen as being an employee, it should be seen as being a leader—that’s what’s wrong—that leaders aren’t really easily replacable. Starting a new charity or project that wouldn’t have happened otherwise should perhaps be the counterfactual. Now we can start talking about the relative scarcity of funds against ideas against quality execution and see where the gap is and send marginal EA talent in that direction? Doesn’t make that much sense to put your career into executing someone else’s plan that would have been done anyway so its a bit of a straw man against ETG?