Seconding Ben, I did a similar exercise and got similarly mixed (with stark examples in both directions) results (including in some instances you allude to in the post)
I think it’s possible our views are compatible here. I want expertise to be valued more on the margin because I found EV and many other EA orgs to tilt towards an extreme of prioritizing value alignment, but I certainly believe there are cases where value alignment and general intelligence matter most and also that there are cases where expertise matters more.
I think the key lies in trying to figure out which situations are which in advance.
I guess the main thing to be aware of is how hiring non-value aligned people can lead to drift which isn’t significant at first, but becomes significant over time. That said, I also agree that a certain level of professionalism within organisation becomes more important as they scale.
Seconding Ben, I did a similar exercise and got similarly mixed (with stark examples in both directions) results (including in some instances you allude to in the post)
I think it’s possible our views are compatible here. I want expertise to be valued more on the margin because I found EV and many other EA orgs to tilt towards an extreme of prioritizing value alignment, but I certainly believe there are cases where value alignment and general intelligence matter most and also that there are cases where expertise matters more.
I think the key lies in trying to figure out which situations are which in advance.
I guess the main thing to be aware of is how hiring non-value aligned people can lead to drift which isn’t significant at first, but becomes significant over time. That said, I also agree that a certain level of professionalism within organisation becomes more important as they scale.
Drift isn’t the issue I was pointing at it my comment