You said he “clearly doesn’t believe what he is saying.” That was the place that seems obviously over the line, mean spirited, and incorrect. It was, of course, imputing motives, which is generally considered unacceptable. But more than that, you’re confused about what he’s saying, or you’re assuming that because he opposes some views longtermists hold, he must disagree with all of them. You need to very, very careful about reading what is said closely when you’re making such bold and insulting claims. He does not say anywhere in the linked article that engineered pandemics and AGI are not challenges, nor, in other forums, has he changed his mind about them as risks—but he does say that X-risk folks ignoring climate change is worrying, and that in his view, it is critical. And that’s a view that many others in EA share—just not the longtermists who are almost exclusively focused on X-risks. And his concerns about fanaticism are not exactly coming out of nowhere. The concern of fanaticism in longtermist thinking was brought up a half dozen times at the GPI conference earlier this week, and his concern about it seems far more strident, but is clearly understandable—even if you think, as I have said publicly and told him privately, that he’s misreading the most extreme philosophical arguments which have been proposed about longtermism as personal viewpoints held by people, rather than speculation.
You said he “clearly doesn’t believe what he is saying.” That was the place that seems obviously over the line, mean spirited, and incorrect. It was, of course, imputing motives, which is generally considered unacceptable. But more than that, you’re confused about what he’s saying, or you’re assuming that because he opposes some views longtermists hold, he must disagree with all of them. You need to very, very careful about reading what is said closely when you’re making such bold and insulting claims. He does not say anywhere in the linked article that engineered pandemics and AGI are not challenges, nor, in other forums, has he changed his mind about them as risks—but he does say that X-risk folks ignoring climate change is worrying, and that in his view, it is critical. And that’s a view that many others in EA share—just not the longtermists who are almost exclusively focused on X-risks.
And his concerns about fanaticism are not exactly coming out of nowhere. The concern of fanaticism in longtermist thinking was brought up a half dozen times at the GPI conference earlier this week, and his concern about it seems far more strident, but is clearly understandable—even if you think, as I have said publicly and told him privately, that he’s misreading the most extreme philosophical arguments which have been proposed about longtermism as personal viewpoints held by people, rather than speculation.