First, the median community member should appreciate that whatever they are working on doing can be good, and can be made better, without needing to judge on some absolute yardstick. Relatedly, second, everyone needs to take a huge break before judging what anyone else is doing, and ask themselves whether it’s a good thing, rather than asking if it’s “EA-enough.”
Similarly, I often see “EA groups” that are looking for members to sign on to a manifest, instead of looking to inspire or encourage others to do more good, or to collaborate with others on beneficial projects.
I see far too much discussion of whether something “is EA” or “should be considered EA,” without any appreciation that “EA” isn’t a yardstick or a goal, it’s a conceptual framework. Obviously, if that’s true, we should stop pushing people to accept the framework, or join the community, and instead look for concrete steps towards helping them do the type of good they are interested in better—whether they are interested in global poverty, education, developmental health, mental health, biosecurity, animal welfare, or AI safety.
First, the median community member should appreciate that whatever they are working on doing can be good, and can be made better, without needing to judge on some absolute yardstick. Relatedly, second, everyone needs to take a huge break before judging what anyone else is doing, and ask themselves whether it’s a good thing, rather than asking if it’s “EA-enough.”
Similarly, I often see “EA groups” that are looking for members to sign on to a manifest, instead of looking to inspire or encourage others to do more good, or to collaborate with others on beneficial projects.
I see far too much discussion of whether something “is EA” or “should be considered EA,” without any appreciation that “EA” isn’t a yardstick or a goal, it’s a conceptual framework. Obviously, if that’s true, we should stop pushing people to accept the framework, or join the community, and instead look for concrete steps towards helping them do the type of good they are interested in better—whether they are interested in global poverty, education, developmental health, mental health, biosecurity, animal welfare, or AI safety.