Thanks for posting this against the social incentives right now.
My initial reaction to the situation was similar to yours—wanting to trust SBF and believe that it was an honest mistake.
But there are two reasons I disagree with that position.
First, we may never know for sure whether it was an honest mistake or intentional fraud. EA should mostly not support people who cannot prove that they have not committed fraud. Many who commit fraud can claim they were making honest mistakes.
Second, when you are a custodian of that much wealth and bear that much responsibility, it’s not ok to have insufficient safeguards against mistakes. It’s immoral to fail in your duty of care when the stakes are this high.
Thanks for posting this against the social incentives right now.
My initial reaction to the situation was similar to yours—wanting to trust SBF and believe that it was an honest mistake.
But there are two reasons I disagree with that position.
First, we may never know for sure whether it was an honest mistake or intentional fraud. EA should mostly not support people who cannot prove that they have not committed fraud. Many who commit fraud can claim they were making honest mistakes.
Second, when you are a custodian of that much wealth and bear that much responsibility, it’s not ok to have insufficient safeguards against mistakes. It’s immoral to fail in your duty of care when the stakes are this high.