Do you also see it as something which should redirect resources currently being spent on long-termist causes?
No, I think that funding averted from AI alignment to climate change would be a mistake. But optimising money currently spent on climate change could be useful.
This is a small nitpick, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the claim substantiated that EA’s focus has been unduly influenced by “the short-term world of hedge funds”, even though people make it all the time. Yes, GiveWell was founded by hedge-fund veterans, but the tools they borrowed from Bridgewater were (as far as I know) related to EV calculations, not “having a short time horizon”. EA has, almost since the beginning, had a stronger focus on the long-term future than nearly any other social movement.
Yes, it felt a little harsh of me to have written that. I agree—it’s a bit of strawman argument. I think what I was thinking there is perhaps better expressed in the quote from Christine Peterson.
Thanks for your comments.
No, I think that funding averted from AI alignment to climate change would be a mistake. But optimising money currently spent on climate change could be useful.
Yes, it felt a little harsh of me to have written that. I agree—it’s a bit of strawman argument. I think what I was thinking there is perhaps better expressed in the quote from Christine Peterson.