I think a better way of looking at this is that EA is very inviting of criticism but not necessarily that responsive to it. There are like 10 million critiques on the EA Forum, most with serious discussion and replies. Probably very few elicit actual change in EA. (I am of the opinion that most criticism just isn’t very good, and that there is a reason it hasn’t been adopted, but obviously this is debatable).
I don’t think I like this framing, because being responsive to criticism isn’t inherently good, because criticism isn’t always correct. I think EA is bad at the important middle step between inviting criticism and being responsive to it, which is seriously engaging with criticism.
Agree, I don’t see many “top-ranking” or “core” EAs writing exhaustive critiques (posts, not just comments!) of these critiques. (OK, they would likely complain that they have better things to do with their time, and they often do, but I have trouble recalling any aside from (debatably) some of the responses to AGI Ruins / Death With Dignity.)
As was said elsewhere, I think Holden’s is an example. And I think Will questioning the hinge of history would qualify as a deep critique of the prevailing view in X risk. There are also examples of the orthodoxy changing due to core EAs changing their minds, like switching to the high fidelity model, away from earning to give, towards longtermism, towards more policy.
I think a better way of looking at this is that EA is very inviting of criticism but not necessarily that responsive to it. There are like 10 million critiques on the EA Forum, most with serious discussion and replies. Probably very few elicit actual change in EA. (I am of the opinion that most criticism just isn’t very good, and that there is a reason it hasn’t been adopted, but obviously this is debatable).
I don’t think I like this framing, because being responsive to criticism isn’t inherently good, because criticism isn’t always correct. I think EA is bad at the important middle step between inviting criticism and being responsive to it, which is seriously engaging with criticism.
Agree, I don’t see many “top-ranking” or “core” EAs writing exhaustive critiques (posts, not just comments!) of these critiques. (OK, they would likely complain that they have better things to do with their time, and they often do, but I have trouble recalling any aside from (debatably) some of the responses to AGI Ruins / Death With Dignity.)
As was said elsewhere, I think Holden’s is an example. And I think Will questioning the hinge of history would qualify as a deep critique of the prevailing view in X risk. There are also examples of the orthodoxy changing due to core EAs changing their minds, like switching to the high fidelity model, away from earning to give, towards longtermism, towards more policy.