Great points, Michael! Some of these questions (e.g., why does it make sense to pay people for learning about EA?) came up during Penn EA’s fellowships this year.
In my experience as a facilitator, these conversations were almost always productive. I would generally use these moments as opportunities to explain why careers in high-impact cause areas are so valuable. I’d say something like “EA is willing to invest resources into student groups because they’ve seen that student groups (and intro fellowships) can help people apply EA principles in their careers, which is ultimately worth the financial investment. People who resonate with these ideas & take them seriously often go on to have really important careers in AI alignment, biosecurity, animal welfare, and other really important areas.”
This explanation generally seemed persuasive (or at least helped people understand this perspective).
*Also quick note of clarification: Penn EA experimented with $500 stipends this semester. Just to be clear, I don’t believe this is something that Penn EA has ever done in the past, and it might not be something we do in the future.
Great points, Michael! Some of these questions (e.g., why does it make sense to pay people for learning about EA?) came up during Penn EA’s fellowships this year.
In my experience as a facilitator, these conversations were almost always productive. I would generally use these moments as opportunities to explain why careers in high-impact cause areas are so valuable. I’d say something like “EA is willing to invest resources into student groups because they’ve seen that student groups (and intro fellowships) can help people apply EA principles in their careers, which is ultimately worth the financial investment. People who resonate with these ideas & take them seriously often go on to have really important careers in AI alignment, biosecurity, animal welfare, and other really important areas.”
This explanation generally seemed persuasive (or at least helped people understand this perspective).
*Also quick note of clarification: Penn EA experimented with $500 stipends this semester. Just to be clear, I don’t believe this is something that Penn EA has ever done in the past, and it might not be something we do in the future.