On “End high-skilled immigration programs”: The thing about big-brained stuff like this is it very rarely works. Consider:
What is p(doom|immigration restrictions)-p(doom|status quo immigration)? To that end: might immigration be useful in AI Safety research as well?
What is E[utility from AI doom]-E[utility from not AI doom]? This also probably gets into all sorts of infinite ethics/pascal’s mugging issues.
How likely are you to actually change immigration laws like this?
What is the non-AI-related utility of immigration, before AI doom or assuming AI doom never comes?
What other externalities might exist from trying to get involved in immigration politics?
After doing all these calculations you will almost assuredly get a value less than intervening in politics to tackle AI Safety a different way.
The other stuff seems more reasonable but if you’re going to restrict immigrants’ ability to work on AI you might as well restrict natives’ ability to work on AI as well. I doubt that the former is much easier than the latter.
“The other stuff seems more reasonable but if you’re going to restrict immigrants’ ability to work on AI you might as well restrict natives’ ability to work on AI as well. I doubt that the former is much easier than the latter.”
This part of your comment I disagree on. There are specific provisions in US law to protect domestic physicians, immigrants on H1B visas have way fewer rights and are more dependent on their employers than citizen employees, and certain federal jobs or contractor positions are limited to citizens/permanent residents. I think this isn’t outlandish, but certainly not hard.
The end of high-skilled immigration won’t happen, I agree. Even when RW populists actually win national elections, they don’t do this.
On “End high-skilled immigration programs”: The thing about big-brained stuff like this is it very rarely works. Consider:
What is p(doom|immigration restrictions)-p(doom|status quo immigration)? To that end: might immigration be useful in AI Safety research as well?
What is E[utility from AI doom]-E[utility from not AI doom]? This also probably gets into all sorts of infinite ethics/pascal’s mugging issues.
How likely are you to actually change immigration laws like this?
What is the non-AI-related utility of immigration, before AI doom or assuming AI doom never comes?
What other externalities might exist from trying to get involved in immigration politics?
After doing all these calculations you will almost assuredly get a value less than intervening in politics to tackle AI Safety a different way.
The other stuff seems more reasonable but if you’re going to restrict immigrants’ ability to work on AI you might as well restrict natives’ ability to work on AI as well. I doubt that the former is much easier than the latter.
“The other stuff seems more reasonable but if you’re going to restrict immigrants’ ability to work on AI you might as well restrict natives’ ability to work on AI as well. I doubt that the former is much easier than the latter.”
This part of your comment I disagree on. There are specific provisions in US law to protect domestic physicians, immigrants on H1B visas have way fewer rights and are more dependent on their employers than citizen employees, and certain federal jobs or contractor positions are limited to citizens/permanent residents. I think this isn’t outlandish, but certainly not hard.
The end of high-skilled immigration won’t happen, I agree. Even when RW populists actually win national elections, they don’t do this.