I really like your views here. It's very normal for a movement in it's early years to exist in tight relationships and ask people you know and trust to come be on a board or a new org...but that all starts to change when you start having billions of dollars power and FTX blows it in a billions kind of way. A big part of my analysis of EA is that the billions clout somewhat blinded the philosophical leaders to go be esoteric philosophy nerds to their hearts content and come up with Longtermism and try to steer the whole movement towards it and away from the core reality of what the movement is--the idea of evidence based impact and the steering of many donors in that direction, as well as how charities operate. Ok sure add some think tanks for X-risk, great...also great to add a little subsection on Longtermism, I dig it, but not steer the whole ship. The reality now is that Longtermism didn't make it's case in the world coz FTX interrupted it while it was on stage, and the whole ship fell into crisis, so now let's steer the ship back to it's intended goal, the thing they gave us all the money for, and then let's move as a more mature movement into the broadening that must take place for all movements as they grow and mature...no longer a STEM club but full of arts and humanities, more mid and late career people, more average people instead of elite only...this is who we need to be if we are to reach out to the real world which is balanced and invite them to donate to effective charities and maybe think a little about some pressing X-risk issues.
I really like your views here. It's very normal for a movement in it's early years to exist in tight relationships and ask people you know and trust to come be on a board or a new org...but that all starts to change when you start having billions of dollars power and FTX blows it in a billions kind of way. A big part of my analysis of EA is that the billions clout somewhat blinded the philosophical leaders to go be esoteric philosophy nerds to their hearts content and come up with Longtermism and try to steer the whole movement towards it and away from the core reality of what the movement is--the idea of evidence based impact and the steering of many donors in that direction, as well as how charities operate. Ok sure add some think tanks for X-risk, great...also great to add a little subsection on Longtermism, I dig it, but not steer the whole ship. The reality now is that Longtermism didn't make it's case in the world coz FTX interrupted it while it was on stage, and the whole ship fell into crisis, so now let's steer the ship back to it's intended goal, the thing they gave us all the money for, and then let's move as a more mature movement into the broadening that must take place for all movements as they grow and mature...no longer a STEM club but full of arts and humanities, more mid and late career people, more average people instead of elite only...this is who we need to be if we are to reach out to the real world which is balanced and invite them to donate to effective charities and maybe think a little about some pressing X-risk issues.