Executive summary: Developing manipulation-proof measures of malevolence could help reduce existential and suffering risks by screening out malevolent actors from high-impact positions, and this cause area seems neglected yet tractable and important.
Key points:
Better measures of malevolence could be used to screen politicians, AI researchers, and other high-leverage individuals at various career stages.
Wider dissemination of anti-malevolence screening, e.g. via HR companies, could help build awareness and political will.
The neglectedness of this cause area suggests low-hanging fruit opportunities for research and implementation.
Precedents like polygraph tests and historical case studies of malevolent leaders provide foundations to build on.
EA and longtermist organizations could serve as early adopters to test and advance the science of measuring malevolence.
Concrete research ideas include literature reviews, case studies, surveys on attitudes, and non-measure interventions like spotting malevolent traits.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: Developing manipulation-proof measures of malevolence could help reduce existential and suffering risks by screening out malevolent actors from high-impact positions, and this cause area seems neglected yet tractable and important.
Key points:
Better measures of malevolence could be used to screen politicians, AI researchers, and other high-leverage individuals at various career stages.
Wider dissemination of anti-malevolence screening, e.g. via HR companies, could help build awareness and political will.
The neglectedness of this cause area suggests low-hanging fruit opportunities for research and implementation.
Precedents like polygraph tests and historical case studies of malevolent leaders provide foundations to build on.
EA and longtermist organizations could serve as early adopters to test and advance the science of measuring malevolence.
Concrete research ideas include literature reviews, case studies, surveys on attitudes, and non-measure interventions like spotting malevolent traits.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.