The same neglect that potentially makes AI investments a good deal can also make AI philanthropy a better deal. If there is a huge AI boom, a prescient investment in AI companies might leave you with a larger share of the world economy—but you’ll probably still be a much smaller share of total dollars directed at influencing AI.
That said, I do think this is a reasonable default thing to do with dollars if you are interested in the long term but unimpressed with the current menu of long-termist philanthropy (or expect to be better-informed in the future).
The same neglect that potentially makes AI investments a good deal can also make AI philanthropy a better deal.
Makes sense.
I realize I was writing from the perspective of a small-scale donor (whose donations trade off meaningfully against their saving & consumption goals).
From the perspective of a fully altruistic donor (who’s not thinking about such trade-offs), doing current AI philanthropy seems really good (if the donor thinks current opportunities are sensible bets).
The same neglect that potentially makes AI investments a good deal can also make AI philanthropy a better deal. If there is a huge AI boom, a prescient investment in AI companies might leave you with a larger share of the world economy—but you’ll probably still be a much smaller share of total dollars directed at influencing AI.
That said, I do think this is a reasonable default thing to do with dollars if you are interested in the long term but unimpressed with the current menu of long-termist philanthropy (or expect to be better-informed in the future).
Makes sense.
I realize I was writing from the perspective of a small-scale donor (whose donations trade off meaningfully against their saving & consumption goals).
From the perspective of a fully altruistic donor (who’s not thinking about such trade-offs), doing current AI philanthropy seems really good (if the donor thinks current opportunities are sensible bets).