I am amenable to this argument and generally skeptical of longtermism on practical grounds. (I have a lot of trouble thinking of someone 300-500 years ago plausibly doing anything with my interests in mind that actually makes a difference. Possible exceptions include folks associated with the Glorious Revolution.)
I think the best counterargument is that itâs easier to set things on a good course than to course correct. Analogy: easier to found Google, capitalizing on advertisersâ complacency, than to fix advertising from within; easier to create Zoom than to get Microsoft to make Skype good.
Im not saying this is right but I think that is how I would try to motivate working on longtermism if I did (work on longtermism).
It does sometimes feel like longtermism leans into âargument for the sake of argument,â and may not be very practical for todayâs problems, or tomorrowâs. But I also feel that way about EA (at times). I wish we could mobilize and get some big things done! I think alignment is the key to the engine.
I am amenable to this argument and generally skeptical of longtermism on practical grounds. (I have a lot of trouble thinking of someone 300-500 years ago plausibly doing anything with my interests in mind that actually makes a difference. Possible exceptions include folks associated with the Glorious Revolution.)
I think the best counterargument is that itâs easier to set things on a good course than to course correct. Analogy: easier to found Google, capitalizing on advertisersâ complacency, than to fix advertising from within; easier to create Zoom than to get Microsoft to make Skype good.
Im not saying this is right but I think that is how I would try to motivate working on longtermism if I did (work on longtermism).
It does sometimes feel like longtermism leans into âargument for the sake of argument,â and may not be very practical for todayâs problems, or tomorrowâs. But I also feel that way about EA (at times). I wish we could mobilize and get some big things done! I think alignment is the key to the engine.