Hi Carla and Luke, I was sad to hear that you and others were concerned that funders would be angry with you or your institutions for publishing this paper. For what it’s worth, raising these criticisms wouldn’t count as a black mark against you or your institutions in any funding decisions that I make. I’m saying this here publicly in case it makes others feel less concerned that funders would retaliate against people raising similar critiques. I disagree with the idea that publishing critiques like this is dangerous / should be discouraged.
+1 to everything Nick said, especially the last sentence. I’m glad this paper was published; I think it makes some valid points (which doesn’t mean I agree with everything), and I don’t see the case that it presents any risks or harms that should have made the authors consider withholding it. Furthermore, I think it’s good for EA to be publicly examined and critiqued, so I think there are substantial potential harms from discouraging this general sort of work.
Whoever told you that funders would be upset by your publishing this piece, they didn’t speak for Open Philanthropy. If there’s an easy way to ensure they see this comment (and Nick’s), it might be helpful to do so.
Hi Carla and Luke, I was sad to hear that you and others were concerned that funders would be angry with you or your institutions for publishing this paper. For what it’s worth, raising these criticisms wouldn’t count as a black mark against you or your institutions in any funding decisions that I make. I’m saying this here publicly in case it makes others feel less concerned that funders would retaliate against people raising similar critiques. I disagree with the idea that publishing critiques like this is dangerous / should be discouraged.
+1 to everything Nick said, especially the last sentence. I’m glad this paper was published; I think it makes some valid points (which doesn’t mean I agree with everything), and I don’t see the case that it presents any risks or harms that should have made the authors consider withholding it. Furthermore, I think it’s good for EA to be publicly examined and critiqued, so I think there are substantial potential harms from discouraging this general sort of work.
Whoever told you that funders would be upset by your publishing this piece, they didn’t speak for Open Philanthropy. If there’s an easy way to ensure they see this comment (and Nick’s), it might be helpful to do so.
+1, EA Funds (which I run) is interested in funding critiques of popular EA-relevant ideas.
Thanks for saying this publically too Nick, this is helpful for anyone who might worry about funding.