Why complexity science is important for effective altruism

[Nikiz]

Effective altruism often involves tackling complex global problems that require a deep understanding of the systems and dynamics at play.

This is where complexity science comes in. By studying complex systems and their behavior, complexity science can help effective altruists better understand the challenges they are trying to address, and identify the most effective interventions to make a positive difference.

For example, consider the problem of global poverty. This is a complex problem that involves a range of factors, including economic, political, and social issues. Using the tools of complexity science, effective altruists can model the different components of this problem and how they interact, and use that understanding to identify the most effective interventions to reduce poverty.

Complexity science can also help effective altruists anticipate the potential consequences of their actions. Because complex systems can be difficult to predict, it is important to have a good understanding of how they work in order to avoid unintended consequences. By using complexity science to model the potential impacts of different interventions, effective altruists can make more informed decisions and avoid making things worse.

In addition, complexity science can help effective altruists identify the most promising areas for intervention. Many complex systems, such as ecosystems and social networks, have a small number of key “leverage points” where a small change can have a big impact. By using complexity science to identify these leverage points, effective altruists can focus their efforts and resources on the interventions that are most likely to make a difference.

Overall, complexity science is an important tool for effective altruism, helping to provide a better understanding of complex global problems and identify the most effective interventions to address them. By incorporating complexity science into their decision-making process, effective altruists can make a greater positive impact on the world.

[Ariel Simnegar]

Thanks for your post, Nikiz! I don’t mean this to offend, but this post reads a very much like it was generated by GPT-3/​ChatGPT.

If you indeed wrote this, I’d advise you to include much more clarification, examples, and precise recommendations.

[Nikiz]

Yes, the post is generated by ChatGPT.
It was my first attempt of such a post. I am curious how the community reacts to articles like this. Would you generally say that text generated by ChatGPT would not add much value to the forum (as this one) or do you see possible ways how CHatGPT can be useful in this context (like asking it to add examples)?
I would love to hear your opinion on this as I would like to further experiment with ChatGPT.

[Ariel Simnegar]

Hi! I think ChatGPT could be useful as a “personal assistant” for common subtasks in essay writing (coming up with examples, rephrasing text to avoid misinterpretation, etc). However, I personally don’t think that fully AI generated essays are yet capable of adding real value to EA decisionmaking.

[Alex D]

I thought this might be the output of an LLM (it just has that ‘feel’), but ChatGPT actually produced an IMO better essay when prompted with the title of this post:

Complexity science is the study of complex systems, which are systems that consist of many interacting parts that can give rise to emergent behavior. Effective altruism is the idea of using evidence and reasoning to determine the most effective ways to benefit others, and taking action based on that evidence.

In recent years, effective altruism has become an increasingly popular movement, with a growing number of people seeking to use their resources and talents to make a positive impact on the world. At the same time, complexity science has begun to shed light on some of the fundamental principles that govern the behavior of complex systems, such as networks, ecosystems, and social organizations.

One of the key insights of complexity science is that the behavior of complex systems cannot be fully understood by simply analyzing the individual parts of the system in isolation. Instead, it is necessary to consider how the parts interact with each other and how they combine to produce emergent behavior. This is because the interactions among the parts of a complex system can give rise to behavior that is not predictable from the behavior of the individual parts alone.

This insight has important implications for effective altruism. For example, when trying to address a complex social problem, such as poverty or inequality, it is not enough to simply identify the individual causes of the problem and address them one by one. Instead, it is necessary to take a more holistic approach that considers how the different causes of the problem are interconnected and how they combine to produce the overall effect.

Another key insight of complexity science is that complex systems can exhibit surprising and counterintuitive behavior. For example, in some cases, small changes to a system can have large and unexpected effects, while in other cases, large changes can have little or no effect. This means that interventions designed to address complex problems may not always produce the intended results, and it may be necessary to adapt and adjust the interventions in response to feedback from the system.

This insight has important implications for effective altruism because it suggests that even well-intentioned interventions can have unintended consequences. For example, an intervention that is designed to address a particular aspect of a complex problem may actually make the overall problem worse by disrupting the delicate balance of the system. In order to avoid these kinds of unintended consequences, it is important for effective altruists to be aware of the complexity of the systems they are trying to address and to approach their interventions with caution and flexibility.

Overall, complexity science is an important field for effective altruism because it offers insights into the nature of complex systems and how they behave. By taking these insights into account, effective altruists can develop more effective interventions and avoid unintended consequences. This can help them to make a greater positive impact on the world and contribute to a better future for everyone.

[Corentin Biteau]

I did not downvote, but I suspect one reason it is downvoted is because it’s not clear what we can really do with this information.

I can agree that complexity science is important. But how do we use it ?

For instance, giving a specific example indicating where there is one thing we should change on [insert topic] would be good I think. Then, you can tell how complexity science helped providing such result (the classis “show, don’t tell” approach).

[Nikiz]

Thank you everybody for your feedback.
As some of you already noticed this was a text generated by ChatGPT. I was interested in how the community would react to this kind of post.
I chose the topic of complexity science as it has a little presents in the community and could inspire people to further look into it.
I would like to further experiment with ChatGPT and how it could add value to EA.
This firtst attempt seemd to have not added much value and I would love to hear from you why you think that is and what that means for the future implementation of ChatGPT.