I want to gently push back on this being more EA than not undergoing surgery and removing important parts of one’s body. I think you might be influenced a lot by your feelings (I know I am despite trying to be rational—I am rational about how irrational I am!). Therefore, I could imagine myself in your situation feeling a strong pull to be an organ donor because you feel like you are not giving enough otherwise. I therefore strongly advice to wait a few years after you have graduated and you have a comfortable, stable income. This way you will have compassion for your future self which is likely to most of the time have a stable and comfortable income—the student years pass quickly! Take care of yourself whatever you do, this is a marathon, not a sprint (unless we are unlucky with AGI timelines and alignment).
I mean it’s not an important body part, you can live perfectly well with only one kidney, which is why I’m giving it away. If by some cruel twist of fate I do end up needing another kidney, I’ll be on the top of the recipient list thanks to my donation.
I think you might be influenced a lot by your feelings
Of course I am, empathy is a feeling after all. I don’t see why this is a reason to not do it.
wait a few years after you have graduated and you have a comfortable, stable income
I will not do the procedure during the school year, and will take as long as I need to recover afterwards. I’d prefer to do it sooner rather than later, since earlier interventions are almost always better than later interventions due to the higher amount of knock on effects (e.g. if I convince someone to be vegan now it’s better than years in the future, since I’m saving the animals in the intervening years). Also I study ethics, so a “comfortable stable income” is probably not happening anyways :)
I want to gently push back on this being more EA than not undergoing surgery and removing important parts of one’s body. I think you might be influenced a lot by your feelings (I know I am despite trying to be rational—I am rational about how irrational I am!). Therefore, I could imagine myself in your situation feeling a strong pull to be an organ donor because you feel like you are not giving enough otherwise. I therefore strongly advice to wait a few years after you have graduated and you have a comfortable, stable income. This way you will have compassion for your future self which is likely to most of the time have a stable and comfortable income—the student years pass quickly! Take care of yourself whatever you do, this is a marathon, not a sprint (unless we are unlucky with AGI timelines and alignment).
I mean it’s not an important body part, you can live perfectly well with only one kidney, which is why I’m giving it away. If by some cruel twist of fate I do end up needing another kidney, I’ll be on the top of the recipient list thanks to my donation.
Of course I am, empathy is a feeling after all. I don’t see why this is a reason to not do it.
I will not do the procedure during the school year, and will take as long as I need to recover afterwards. I’d prefer to do it sooner rather than later, since earlier interventions are almost always better than later interventions due to the higher amount of knock on effects (e.g. if I convince someone to be vegan now it’s better than years in the future, since I’m saving the animals in the intervening years). Also I study ethics, so a “comfortable stable income” is probably not happening anyways :)