It seems to me that consciousness research could be categorized as “fundamental” research and while it may have a less obvious or near-term altruistic impact, without a full understanding, we may miss something essential in how we work or how we operate. For example, studying consciousness, what it is, how it works, and who/what “has it” to what degree could have strong implications on animal rights discussions. More broadly, I tend to think fundamental research is pretty significantly underfunded and underrepresented, perhaps because the direct application seems fuzzier, but I think it is still very important for formalizing and hardening our understanding of how the world works, which serves to improve our decision making. Cognitive science in general is promising to me too, since it can help us figure out why we feel and act like we do, which can really improve our ability to overcome our potentially negative impulses, support our positive impulses, and be more rational and clear-thinking.
I’d say the same thing about astrophysics or quantum mechanics; they seem to be less directly relevant and don’t have an 80,000 hours profile, but people definitely still need to do it, since they are essential to our understanding of the universe and have direct applications in improving the world or avoiding existential risks. Not necessarily saying they need to be on 80,000 hours’ “most pressing” list, but I certainly wouldn’t want to discourage people from working in these areas if the have the skills and interest. We could let “more capable successors” deal with these issues, but I am of the opinion that we can’t let work on fundamental research go to zero, or even close to it, while we wait for the successors to arrive.
It seems to me that consciousness research could be categorized as “fundamental” research and while it may have a less obvious or near-term altruistic impact, without a full understanding, we may miss something essential in how we work or how we operate. For example, studying consciousness, what it is, how it works, and who/what “has it” to what degree could have strong implications on animal rights discussions. More broadly, I tend to think fundamental research is pretty significantly underfunded and underrepresented, perhaps because the direct application seems fuzzier, but I think it is still very important for formalizing and hardening our understanding of how the world works, which serves to improve our decision making. Cognitive science in general is promising to me too, since it can help us figure out why we feel and act like we do, which can really improve our ability to overcome our potentially negative impulses, support our positive impulses, and be more rational and clear-thinking.
I’d say the same thing about astrophysics or quantum mechanics; they seem to be less directly relevant and don’t have an 80,000 hours profile, but people definitely still need to do it, since they are essential to our understanding of the universe and have direct applications in improving the world or avoiding existential risks. Not necessarily saying they need to be on 80,000 hours’ “most pressing” list, but I certainly wouldn’t want to discourage people from working in these areas if the have the skills and interest. We could let “more capable successors” deal with these issues, but I am of the opinion that we can’t let work on fundamental research go to zero, or even close to it, while we wait for the successors to arrive.