Relatedly, I have met people doing “AI safety” stuff without having impact in mind, and end up doing research on whatever shiny academic vaguely related topic without a clear theory of change, while still being intermingled with the EA crowd sociologically.
Some of them pay lip service to impact and write theories of change to get funds (as a pure mathematician, we do that in my line of work and I think I can recognize when you say there is impact to get the research you are obsessed with funded, and when you are actually trying to do good in the world).
Relatedly, I have met people doing “AI safety” stuff without having impact in mind, and end up doing research on whatever shiny academic vaguely related topic without a clear theory of change, while still being intermingled with the EA crowd sociologically.
Some of them pay lip service to impact and write theories of change to get funds (as a pure mathematician, we do that in my line of work and I think I can recognize when you say there is impact to get the research you are obsessed with funded, and when you are actually trying to do good in the world).