Setting aside the questions of the impacts of working at these companies, it seems to me like this post prioritizes the warmth and collegiality of the EA community over the effects that our actions could have on the entire rest of the planet in a way that makes me feel pretty nervous. If we’re trying in good faith to do the most good, and someone takes a job we think is harmful, it seems like the question should be “how can I express my beliefs in a way that is likely to be heard, to find truth, and not to alienate the person?” rather than “is it polite to express these beliefs at all?” It seems like at least the first two reasons listed would also imply that we shouldn’t criticize people in really obviously harmful jobs like cigarette advertising.
It also seems quite dangerous to avoid passing judgment on individuals within the EA community based on our impressions of their work, which, unless I’m missing something, is what this post implies we should do. Saying we should “be kind and cooperative toward everyone who is trying in good faith to reduce AI risk” kind of misses the point, because a lot of the evidence for them “trying in good faith” comes from our observations of their actions. And, if it seems to me that someone’s actions make the world worse, the obvious next step is “see what happens if they’re presented with an argument that their actions are making the world worse.” If they have responses that make sense to me, they’re more likely to be acting in good faith. If they don’t, this is a significant red flag that they’re not trustworthy, regardless of their inner motivations: either factors besides the social impact of their actions are dominating in a way that makes it hard to trust them, or their judgment is bad in a way that makes it hard to trust them. I don’t get this information just by asking them open-ended questions; I get it by telling them what I think, in a polite and safe-feeling way.
I think the norms proposed in this post result in people not passing judgment on the individuals working at FTX, which in turn leads to trusting these individuals and trusting the institution that they run. (Indeed, I’m confused at the post’s separation between criticizing the decisions/strategies made by institutions and those made by the individuals who make the decisions and choose to further the strategies.) If people had suspicions that FTX was committing fraud or otherwise acting unethically, confronting individuals at FTX with these suspicions—and forming judgments of the individuals and of FTX—could have been incredibly valuable.
Weaving these points together: if you think leading AGI labs are acting recklessly, telling this to individuals who work at these labs (in a socially competent way) and critically evaluating their responses seems like a very important thing to do. Preserving a norm of non-criticism also denies these people the information that (1) you think their actions are net-negative and (2) you and others might be forming judgments of them in light of this. If they are acting in good faith, it seems extremely important that they have this information—worth the risk of an awkward conversation or hurt feelings, both of which are mitigable with social skills.
(Realizing that it would be hypocritical for me not to say this, so I’ll add: if you’re working on capabilities at an AGI lab, I do think you’re probably making us less safe and could do a lot of good by switching to, well, nearly anything else, but especially safety research.)
Setting aside the questions of the impacts of working at these companies, it seems to me like this post prioritizes the warmth and collegiality of the EA community over the effects that our actions could have on the entire rest of the planet in a way that makes me feel pretty nervous. If we’re trying in good faith to do the most good, and someone takes a job we think is harmful, it seems like the question should be “how can I express my beliefs in a way that is likely to be heard, to find truth, and not to alienate the person?” rather than “is it polite to express these beliefs at all?” It seems like at least the first two reasons listed would also imply that we shouldn’t criticize people in really obviously harmful jobs like cigarette advertising.
It also seems quite dangerous to avoid passing judgment on individuals within the EA community based on our impressions of their work, which, unless I’m missing something, is what this post implies we should do. Saying we should “be kind and cooperative toward everyone who is trying in good faith to reduce AI risk” kind of misses the point, because a lot of the evidence for them “trying in good faith” comes from our observations of their actions. And, if it seems to me that someone’s actions make the world worse, the obvious next step is “see what happens if they’re presented with an argument that their actions are making the world worse.” If they have responses that make sense to me, they’re more likely to be acting in good faith. If they don’t, this is a significant red flag that they’re not trustworthy, regardless of their inner motivations: either factors besides the social impact of their actions are dominating in a way that makes it hard to trust them, or their judgment is bad in a way that makes it hard to trust them. I don’t get this information just by asking them open-ended questions; I get it by telling them what I think, in a polite and safe-feeling way.
I think the norms proposed in this post result in people not passing judgment on the individuals working at FTX, which in turn leads to trusting these individuals and trusting the institution that they run. (Indeed, I’m confused at the post’s separation between criticizing the decisions/strategies made by institutions and those made by the individuals who make the decisions and choose to further the strategies.) If people had suspicions that FTX was committing fraud or otherwise acting unethically, confronting individuals at FTX with these suspicions—and forming judgments of the individuals and of FTX—could have been incredibly valuable.
Weaving these points together: if you think leading AGI labs are acting recklessly, telling this to individuals who work at these labs (in a socially competent way) and critically evaluating their responses seems like a very important thing to do. Preserving a norm of non-criticism also denies these people the information that (1) you think their actions are net-negative and (2) you and others might be forming judgments of them in light of this. If they are acting in good faith, it seems extremely important that they have this information—worth the risk of an awkward conversation or hurt feelings, both of which are mitigable with social skills.
(Realizing that it would be hypocritical for me not to say this, so I’ll add: if you’re working on capabilities at an AGI lab, I do think you’re probably making us less safe and could do a lot of good by switching to, well, nearly anything else, but especially safety research.)