I think outreach from EA to other organizations is great. Part of EA growing bigger is going to be showing that we are not contemptuous of others who are trying to do good that are not within our umbrella… Maybe we won’t be able to get the dog shelter volunteer to switch to studying AGI alignment, but maybe he or she might consider expanding empathy to farmed animals and donating to effective charities that address factory farming.
Meeting people where they are at with empathy and respect is a powerful way of being. If we can connect with the altruism and compassion of a broader set of people, we may be able to nudge them to channel some of their efforts in an EA way.
I think outreach from EA to other organizations is great. Part of EA growing bigger is going to be showing that we are not contemptuous of others who are trying to do good that are not within our umbrella… Maybe we won’t be able to get the dog shelter volunteer to switch to studying AGI alignment, but maybe he or she might consider expanding empathy to farmed animals and donating to effective charities that address factory farming.
Meeting people where they are at with empathy and respect is a powerful way of being. If we can connect with the altruism and compassion of a broader set of people, we may be able to nudge them to channel some of their efforts in an EA way.