Perhaps frontier lab employees at this point should consider “quiet quitting” while anonymously (or not anonymously) whistleblowing and/or contributing to to public education/lobbying.
Loud quitting, as we’ve seen, can be impactful also, but is a one time act and may ceed influence at the lab to less scrupulous people over time.
I think we may be at a “bodies on the gears” point, a-la Mario Savio—i.e. do your best to stop progress, in a not-obvious way if possible, and don’t leave unless fired. AFAIK it’s only illegal to actually damage (or steal) company property. It’s definitely not illegal to be bad at your job. Not a lawyer, that’s just my understanding. Some might consider it a moral obligation when the company is acting against public interest.
A concerted move towards that action by those who care about safety and work at the labs—and there seem to be plenty who still do—could significantly slow progress, and may be the best possible thing to do for humanity at this moment.
I agree. Try to shift internal culture is an important part. At this point, I think all work at leading labs that leads to increased capability is harmful work. Cleaning the floors even, or working in the cafeteria, helps contribute to the functioning of the lab, and is therefore harmful. There is no winning the race.
Any single major lab stopping operations, period, would be a major victory for humanity, because it would reduce the race condition substantially. There are only a few such labs. If you work at a major lab, you should be choosing actions so that you have an overall net negative effect on productivity.
So, stop doing work period, with maybe very limited exceptions for safety research that doesn’t clear the way for new models, and talk to others to convince them to do the same, and then speak out at the same time.
Quitting loudly can be impactful also, but I think a lot of people at the labs “throwing themselves on the gears” so to speak is also an important thing we need now.
Perhaps frontier lab employees at this point should consider “quiet quitting” while anonymously (or not anonymously) whistleblowing and/or contributing to to public education/lobbying.
Loud quitting, as we’ve seen, can be impactful also, but is a one time act and may ceed influence at the lab to less scrupulous people over time.
I think we may be at a “bodies on the gears” point, a-la Mario Savio—i.e. do your best to stop progress, in a not-obvious way if possible, and don’t leave unless fired. AFAIK it’s only illegal to actually damage (or steal) company property. It’s definitely not illegal to be bad at your job. Not a lawyer, that’s just my understanding. Some might consider it a moral obligation when the company is acting against public interest.
A concerted move towards that action by those who care about safety and work at the labs—and there seem to be plenty who still do—could significantly slow progress, and may be the best possible thing to do for humanity at this moment.
Sounds like a similar idea to this post: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/6j3kBHdowGLCeqobg/dear-god-please-do-not-resign-in-protest
FWIW I think rather than “quit quitting”, it’s better to actively protest against harmful work and refuse to do it, to try to shift internal culture.
Thanks for sharing that! I hadn’t read that post.
I agree. Try to shift internal culture is an important part. At this point, I think all work at leading labs that leads to increased capability is harmful work. Cleaning the floors even, or working in the cafeteria, helps contribute to the functioning of the lab, and is therefore harmful. There is no winning the race.
Any single major lab stopping operations, period, would be a major victory for humanity, because it would reduce the race condition substantially. There are only a few such labs. If you work at a major lab, you should be choosing actions so that you have an overall net negative effect on productivity.
So, stop doing work period, with maybe very limited exceptions for safety research that doesn’t clear the way for new models, and talk to others to convince them to do the same, and then speak out at the same time.
Quitting loudly can be impactful also, but I think a lot of people at the labs “throwing themselves on the gears” so to speak is also an important thing we need now.