This is a nice idea though I’d like to suggest some adjustments to the welcome message (also in view of kbog’s worries discussed above). Currently the message begins with:
“(...) we ask that EAs who currently focus on improving the far future not participate. In particular, if you currently prioritize AI risks or s-risks, we ask you not participate.”
I don’t think it’s a good idea to select participants in a discussion according to what they think or do (it pretty much comes down to an Argumentum ad Hominem fallacy). It would be better to specify what the focus of the discussion is, and to welcome those interested in that topic. So I suggest replacing the above with:
“we ask that the discussion be focused on improving the near future, and that the far-future topics (such as AI risks or s-risks) be left for other venues, unless they are of direct relevance for an ongoing discussion on the topic of near future improvements.” (or something along those lines).
I like this suggestion—personally I feel a lot of uncertainty about what to prioritize, and given that a portion of my donations go to near-term work I’d enjoy taking part in discussion about how to best do that, even if I’m also seriously considering whether to prioritize long-term work. But I’d be totally happy to have the topic of that space limited to near-term work.
+1. I’m in a very similar position—I make donations to near-term orgs, and am hungry for discussion of that kind. But because I sometimes do work for explicitly long-term and x-risk orgs, it’s hard for me to be certain if I qualify under current wording.
This is a nice idea though I’d like to suggest some adjustments to the welcome message (also in view of kbog’s worries discussed above). Currently the message begins with:
“(...) we ask that EAs who currently focus on improving the far future not participate. In particular, if you currently prioritize AI risks or s-risks, we ask you not participate.”
I don’t think it’s a good idea to select participants in a discussion according to what they think or do (it pretty much comes down to an Argumentum ad Hominem fallacy). It would be better to specify what the focus of the discussion is, and to welcome those interested in that topic. So I suggest replacing the above with:
“we ask that the discussion be focused on improving the near future, and that the far-future topics (such as AI risks or s-risks) be left for other venues, unless they are of direct relevance for an ongoing discussion on the topic of near future improvements.” (or something along those lines).
I like this suggestion—personally I feel a lot of uncertainty about what to prioritize, and given that a portion of my donations go to near-term work I’d enjoy taking part in discussion about how to best do that, even if I’m also seriously considering whether to prioritize long-term work. But I’d be totally happy to have the topic of that space limited to near-term work.
+1. I’m in a very similar position—I make donations to near-term orgs, and am hungry for discussion of that kind. But because I sometimes do work for explicitly long-term and x-risk orgs, it’s hard for me to be certain if I qualify under current wording.