Are there events or discussion boards, perhaps not organized by the funders with an AI focus? A list of those might be a more “cause-neutral EA space” to initially explore, rather than EAG and listening to 80k hours which will be dominated by AI. Perhaps people conducting EA introduction events could anchor on such a set of spaces and events, and categorize especially 80k hours as “AI orgs”, just one org in one of many parts of the “EA eco system”. That way, if newcomes start listening to 80k hours, or go to an EAG, they know they are “really tapping into a single-cause AI” space.
To a certain extent, I think that local/city groups might fit this description. The EA communities in NYC, DC, and Chicago each have their own Slack workspace, and they also do in-person events. For people not in big cities, EA Anywhere’s Slack workspace offers a discussion space. None of those are perfect substitutes for the EA Forum, but my vague impression is that each of them is less AI-focused than the EA Forum. There is also an EA Discord, but I haven’t interacted with that much so I can’t speak to it’s style or quality.
As far as events go, there is an online book club in the EA Anywhere’s Slack workspace (full disclosure: I organize it, and I think it is great).
Depending on what you are looking for, there is also an Animal Advocacy Forum, although it is far less active than the EA Forum.
Are there events or discussion boards, perhaps not organized by the funders with an AI focus? A list of those might be a more “cause-neutral EA space” to initially explore, rather than EAG and listening to 80k hours which will be dominated by AI. Perhaps people conducting EA introduction events could anchor on such a set of spaces and events, and categorize especially 80k hours as “AI orgs”, just one org in one of many parts of the “EA eco system”. That way, if newcomes start listening to 80k hours, or go to an EAG, they know they are “really tapping into a single-cause AI” space.
To a certain extent, I think that local/city groups might fit this description. The EA communities in NYC, DC, and Chicago each have their own Slack workspace, and they also do in-person events. For people not in big cities, EA Anywhere’s Slack workspace offers a discussion space. None of those are perfect substitutes for the EA Forum, but my vague impression is that each of them is less AI-focused than the EA Forum. There is also an EA Discord, but I haven’t interacted with that much so I can’t speak to it’s style or quality.
As far as events go, there is an online book club in the EA Anywhere’s Slack workspace (full disclosure: I organize it, and I think it is great).
Depending on what you are looking for, there is also an Animal Advocacy Forum, although it is far less active than the EA Forum.