As a fellow german, my strongest objection is that “Zukunftsschutz” has a non-academic vibe to it. E.g. you mentioned the similarity to “Klimaschutz” and the climate movement, which is, while being constituted by educated people, a non-academic movement (I am saying this based on my experiences in the climate movement, which weren’t coined by epistemic-rigorous standards). Additionally, “Klimaschutz” and “Zukunftsschutz” are both similar, and both sides take up similar initial premises (“Let’s save our future, by doing good.”) but different conclusions and implementations (it’s easy to imagine that “Zukunftsschutz” is part of the standard set of answers to “hey, what do we want to put on our banner/poster/demonstration sign?”). Thus, they are likely to be thrown together PR-wise.
In turn, words with “ismus” give of a more academic vibe. I don’t know what exactly the target group is supposed to be, but when it is indeed everybody with a strong analytical mindset, with strong chances of success in an EA cause area, then I think we want to appear more high-profile/academic?
So, I am curious, did you consider these things already and still push for “Zukunftsschutz”? If yes, let me know why :)
(Thank you for conducting this survey, this is really valuable!)
Samuel Nellessen
Karma: 144
Accountability Buddies: Why you might want one (+ Database to find one!)
[Question] Is it valuable to the field of AI Safety to have a neuroscience background?
Thanks Manuel! That’s a great suggestion. Added it to the title :)
This post single-handedly changed my life. The first two thirds of my 2022 were mentally bleak and full of self-loathing, because of feelings you described above. This article has helped my tremendously in transforming my thinking about the issue and gave me clarity—and hope! Thank you for writing this!