Still, this doesn’t make the case for it being competitive with alternatives. EA outreach probably brings in far more people for the same time and resources. Children are a huge investment.
If you’re specifically targeting technological stagnation, then outreach and policy work are probably far more cost-effective than having children, because they’re much higher leverage. That being said, temporary technological stagnation might buy us more time to prepare for x-risks like AGI.
Of course, Will is doing outreach with this book, and maybe it makes sense to promote people having children, since it’s an easier sell than career change into outreach or policy, because people already want to have kids. It’s like only asking people to donate 10% of their income in the GWWC pledge, although the GWWC pledge probably serves as a better hook into further EA involvement, and having children could instead be a barrier.
Still, this doesn’t make the case for it being competitive with alternatives. EA outreach probably brings in far more people for the same time and resources. Children are a huge investment.
If you’re specifically targeting technological stagnation, then outreach and policy work are probably far more cost-effective than having children, because they’re much higher leverage. That being said, temporary technological stagnation might buy us more time to prepare for x-risks like AGI.
Of course, Will is doing outreach with this book, and maybe it makes sense to promote people having children, since it’s an easier sell than career change into outreach or policy, because people already want to have kids. It’s like only asking people to donate 10% of their income in the GWWC pledge, although the GWWC pledge probably serves as a better hook into further EA involvement, and having children could instead be a barrier.