Note that saying “this isn’t my intention” doesn’t prevent net negative effects of a theory of change from applying. Otherwise, doing good would be a lot easier.
I also highly recommend clarifying what exactly you’re criticizing, i.e. the philosophy, the movement norms or some institutions that are core to the movement.
Finally, I usually find the criticism of people a) at the core of the movement and b) highly truth-seeking most relevant to improve the movement so I would expect that if you’re trying to improve the movement, you may want to focus on these people. There exists relevant criticisms external to the movement but usually they will lack of context and thus fail to address some key trade-offs that the movement cares about.
Here’s a small list of people I would be excited to hear on EA flaws and their recommandations for change:
Thank you for your comment and especially your guest recommendations! :)
Note that saying “this isn’t my intention” doesn’t prevent net negative effects of a theory of change from applying. Otherwise, doing good would be a lot easier.
I completely agree. But I still think that saying when a harm was unintentional is an important signaling mechanism. For example, if I step on your foot, saying “Sorry, that was an accident” doesn’t stop you from experiencing pain but hopefully prevents us from getting into a fight. Of course it is possible for signals like this to be misused by bad actors.
I also highly recommend clarifying what exactly you’re criticizing, i.e. the philosophy, the movement norms or some institutions that are core to the movement.
Ideally all of the above, with different episodes focusing on different aspects. Though I agree I should make the scope of the criticism clear at the beginning of each episode. I think the Ozzie’s comment below has a good break down that I may use in the future.
Note that saying “this isn’t my intention” doesn’t prevent net negative effects of a theory of change from applying. Otherwise, doing good would be a lot easier.
I also highly recommend clarifying what exactly you’re criticizing, i.e. the philosophy, the movement norms or some institutions that are core to the movement.
Finally, I usually find the criticism of people a) at the core of the movement and b) highly truth-seeking most relevant to improve the movement so I would expect that if you’re trying to improve the movement, you may want to focus on these people. There exists relevant criticisms external to the movement but usually they will lack of context and thus fail to address some key trade-offs that the movement cares about.
Here’s a small list of people I would be excited to hear on EA flaws and their recommandations for change:
Rob Bensinger
Eli Lifland
Ozzie Gooen
Nuno Sempere
Oliver Habryka
+1 for clarification. It could be neat if you could use a standard diagram to pinpoint what sort of criticism each one is.
For example, see this one from Astral Codex Ten.
Thank you for your comment and especially your guest recommendations! :)
I completely agree. But I still think that saying when a harm was unintentional is an important signaling mechanism. For example, if I step on your foot, saying “Sorry, that was an accident” doesn’t stop you from experiencing pain but hopefully prevents us from getting into a fight. Of course it is possible for signals like this to be misused by bad actors.
Ideally all of the above, with different episodes focusing on different aspects. Though I agree I should make the scope of the criticism clear at the beginning of each episode. I think the Ozzie’s comment below has a good break down that I may use in the future.