But I would reorient my career to work on the most pressing challenges confronting humanity given my current/āaccessible skill set. I quit my job as a web developer, Iām going back to university for graduate study and plan to work on AI safety and digital minds.
I think this is very admirable and wish you success! If indeed youāre acting exactly like someone who straightforwardly wanted to improve the world altruistically, thatās what matters :)
Edit: oh I see you were also donating 10%, thatās also very altruistic! (At least from an outside view, I trust you on your motivations)
I think Iāve been defining āaltruismā in an overly strict sense.
Rather than say Iām not altruistic, I mostly mean that:
Iām not impartial to my own welfare/āwellbeing/āflourishing
Iām much less willing to undertake personal hardship (frugality, donating the majority of my income, etc.) and I think this is fine
10% is not that big an ask (I can sacrifice that much personal comfort), but donating 50% or forgoing significant material comfort would be steps I would be unwilling to take.
(Reorienting my career doesnāt feel like a sacrifice because Iāll be able to have a larger positive impact through the career switch.)
Rather than say Iām not altruistic, I mostly mean that: *Iām not impartial to my own welfare/āwellbeing/āflourishing
To me, those are very different claims!
10% is not that big an ask (I can sacrifice that much personal comfort)
Thatās very relative! Itās more than what the median EA gives, itās way more than what the median non-EA gives. When I talk to non-EA friends/ārelatives about giving, the thought of giving any% is seen as unimaginably altruistic.
Even people donating 50% are not donating 80%, and some would say itās not that big of an ask. IMHO, claiming that only people making huge sacrifices and valuing their own wellbeing at 0 can be considered āaltruistsā is a very strong claim that doesnāt match how the word is used in practice.
I now think it was a mistake/āmisunderstanding to describe myself as non altruistic and believe that I was using an unusually high standard.
(That said, when I started the 10% thing, I did so under the impression that it was what the sacrifice I needed to make to gain acceptance in EA. Churches advocate a 10% tithe as well [which I didnāt pay because I wasnāt actually a Christian (I deconverted at 17 and open atheism is not safe, so Iāve hidden [and still hide] it)], but it did make me predisposed to putting up with that level of sacrifice [Iād faced a lot of social pressure to pay tithes at home, and I think I gave in once].
The 10% felt painful at first, but I eventually got used to it, and it became a source of pride. I could brag about how I was making the world a better place even with my meagre income.)
āThat said, when I started the 10% thing, I did so under the impression that it was what the sacrifice I needed to make to gain acceptance in EAā
If this sentiment is at all widespread among people on the periphery of EA or who might become EA at some point, then I find that VERY concerning. Weād lose a lot of great people if everyone assumed they couldnāt join without making that kind of sacrifice.
I think this is very admirable and wish you success!
If indeed youāre acting exactly like someone who straightforwardly wanted to improve the world altruistically, thatās what matters :)
Edit: oh I see you were also donating 10%, thatās also very altruistic! (At least from an outside view, I trust you on your motivations)
I think Iāve been defining āaltruismā in an overly strict sense.
Rather than say Iām not altruistic, I mostly mean that:
Iām not impartial to my own welfare/āwellbeing/āflourishing
Iām much less willing to undertake personal hardship (frugality, donating the majority of my income, etc.) and I think this is fine
10% is not that big an ask (I can sacrifice that much personal comfort), but donating 50% or forgoing significant material comfort would be steps I would be unwilling to take.
(Reorienting my career doesnāt feel like a sacrifice because Iāll be able to have a larger positive impact through the career switch.)
To me, those are very different claims!
Thatās very relative! Itās more than what the median EA gives, itās way more than what the median non-EA gives. When I talk to non-EA friends/ārelatives about giving, the thought of giving any% is seen as unimaginably altruistic.
Even people donating 50% are not donating 80%, and some would say itās not that big of an ask.
IMHO, claiming that only people making huge sacrifices and valuing their own wellbeing at 0 can be considered āaltruistsā is a very strong claim that doesnāt match how the word is used in practice.
As Wikipedia says:
I now think it was a mistake/āmisunderstanding to describe myself as non altruistic and believe that I was using an unusually high standard.
(That said, when I started the 10% thing, I did so under the impression that it was what the sacrifice I needed to make to gain acceptance in EA. Churches advocate a 10% tithe as well [which I didnāt pay because I wasnāt actually a Christian (I deconverted at 17 and open atheism is not safe, so Iāve hidden [and still hide] it)], but it did make me predisposed to putting up with that level of sacrifice [Iād faced a lot of social pressure to pay tithes at home, and I think I gave in once].
The 10% felt painful at first, but I eventually got used to it, and it became a source of pride. I could brag about how I was making the world a better place even with my meagre income.)
āThat said, when I started the 10% thing, I did so under the impression that it was what the sacrifice I needed to make to gain acceptance in EAā
If this sentiment is at all widespread among people on the periphery of EA or who might become EA at some point, then I find that VERY concerning. Weād lose a lot of great people if everyone assumed they couldnāt join without making that kind of sacrifice.