Thanks for the reply! I’m satisfied with your answer and appreciate the thought you’ve put into this area :) I do have a couple follow-ups if you have a chance to share further:
I expected to hear about the value of the connections made at EAG, but I’m not sure how to think about the counterfactual here. Surely some people choose to meet up at EAG but in the absence of the conference would have connected virtually, for example?
I also wonder about the cause areas of the EA-aligned orgs you cited. Ie, I could imagine longtermist orgs that are more talent-constrained estimating higher dollar value for a connection than, say, a global health org that is more funding-constrained. So I think EAs with different priorities might have different bliss points for conference funding levels.
It also seems like there might be tension between more veteran vs newcomer EAs? Eg, people who have been in the fold for longer might prefer simpler arrangements. In particular, I worry about pandering to “potential donors.” Who are these donors who are unaligned to the extent that their conference experience will determine the size of their future donations? Even if they do exist, this seems like a reason to have a “VIP ticket” or something.
Ultimately, the conference budget is one lens that raises the question, who is EAG for? And I wonder if that question is resolved in favor of longtermist orgs and new donors, at least right now.
No problem! I probably won’t be able to respond to your later points, just because the answers would be complicated and I’d have to go into a lot of detail re how I think about EAG. But to answer some of your other questions:
1. I don’t have concrete data on the counterfactual likelihood of connections, but I expect that it’s not that high (very strong confidence that it’s <50% of connections). There’s no obvious way for many these people to connect virtually, other than attending a virtual EA conference, and I think there are also strong benefits to meeting in person (as well as the possibility of group discussions and meetups). My rough guess would also be that people in general are less interested in virtual conferences than in-person ones, meaning that there are a bunch of counterfactual connections here.
2. The org that said they’d gotten a minimum of $1.25 million worth of value from connections they’ve made at EAG(x)’s was a global health and development org. I don’t know exactly who said that they would trade $5 million in donations for the contacts they made at EAGxBoston, but my guess is that this was someone working in a longtermist/x-risk field (someone on my team told me about this feedback, I didn’t receive it directly myself).
Thanks for the reply! I’m satisfied with your answer and appreciate the thought you’ve put into this area :) I do have a couple follow-ups if you have a chance to share further:
I expected to hear about the value of the connections made at EAG, but I’m not sure how to think about the counterfactual here. Surely some people choose to meet up at EAG but in the absence of the conference would have connected virtually, for example?
I also wonder about the cause areas of the EA-aligned orgs you cited. Ie, I could imagine longtermist orgs that are more talent-constrained estimating higher dollar value for a connection than, say, a global health org that is more funding-constrained. So I think EAs with different priorities might have different bliss points for conference funding levels.
It also seems like there might be tension between more veteran vs newcomer EAs? Eg, people who have been in the fold for longer might prefer simpler arrangements. In particular, I worry about pandering to “potential donors.” Who are these donors who are unaligned to the extent that their conference experience will determine the size of their future donations? Even if they do exist, this seems like a reason to have a “VIP ticket” or something.
Ultimately, the conference budget is one lens that raises the question, who is EAG for? And I wonder if that question is resolved in favor of longtermist orgs and new donors, at least right now.
No problem! I probably won’t be able to respond to your later points, just because the answers would be complicated and I’d have to go into a lot of detail re how I think about EAG. But to answer some of your other questions:
1. I don’t have concrete data on the counterfactual likelihood of connections, but I expect that it’s not that high (very strong confidence that it’s <50% of connections). There’s no obvious way for many these people to connect virtually, other than attending a virtual EA conference, and I think there are also strong benefits to meeting in person (as well as the possibility of group discussions and meetups). My rough guess would also be that people in general are less interested in virtual conferences than in-person ones, meaning that there are a bunch of counterfactual connections here.
2. The org that said they’d gotten a minimum of $1.25 million worth of value from connections they’ve made at EAG(x)’s was a global health and development org. I don’t know exactly who said that they would trade $5 million in donations for the contacts they made at EAGxBoston, but my guess is that this was someone working in a longtermist/x-risk field (someone on my team told me about this feedback, I didn’t receive it directly myself).