Why are you saying “these orgs”? I feel like even though it’s common in EAs to use money to buy time and productivity, combining world travels and living in luxury locations with impactful work is something that was unique to Nonlinear as far as I’m aware.
Also, why are you assuming it’s “donated money” that was used for this, rather than them having earmarked funding for specific projects while they use Emerson’s savings (seems rich or has rich parents) for the luxury expenses? I mean, sure, earmarking is a fuzzy concept, but are you saying that people with independent wealth are prohibited to also fundraise for charitable work they’re doing unless they cut down on the lifestyle they could already independently afford?
I feel like, the important question here is “Do you have a reason to believe that specific Nonlinear donors were misled about the use of funds?” If not, then there’s nothing to complain about.
To be clear, I’m not ruling out that donors were misled here. I just think there’s not necessarily a ton of reason to believe this at this stage, so we should be cautions with the outrage buttons. And only going by pictures with not much about the specifics of this org or the broader context isn’t helpful. (For instance, regarding the broader context, I feel like Nonlinear probably overstates how connected they are to AI safety, so this thing should probably be at most a small update about how AI safety is done and funded more generally within EA.)
Why are you saying “these orgs”? I feel like even though it’s common in EAs to use money to buy time and productivity, combining world travels and living in luxury locations with impactful work is something that was unique to Nonlinear as far as I’m aware.
Also, why are you assuming it’s “donated money” that was used for this, rather than them having earmarked funding for specific projects while they use Emerson’s savings (seems rich or has rich parents) for the luxury expenses? I mean, sure, earmarking is a fuzzy concept, but are you saying that people with independent wealth are prohibited to also fundraise for charitable work they’re doing unless they cut down on the lifestyle they could already independently afford?
I feel like, the important question here is “Do you have a reason to believe that specific Nonlinear donors were misled about the use of funds?” If not, then there’s nothing to complain about.
To be clear, I’m not ruling out that donors were misled here. I just think there’s not necessarily a ton of reason to believe this at this stage, so we should be cautions with the outrage buttons. And only going by pictures with not much about the specifics of this org or the broader context isn’t helpful. (For instance, regarding the broader context, I feel like Nonlinear probably overstates how connected they are to AI safety, so this thing should probably be at most a small update about how AI safety is done and funded more generally within EA.)
Yeah these criticisms are fair, my comment was made hastily and in poor taste. I’ve deleted it.