I’m not quite sure where we disagree, but if I had to put my finger on it, it’s something like “I don’t think that people would be offput by Alice going to networking events to try to get a job in housing policy, and I don’t think she would trigger any defense mechanisms.”
Specific question for you: Would you say that “Alice going to a networking event” (assume she’s doing it socially conventional/appropriate ways) would count as structural power-seeking? And would you discourage her from going?
More generally, there are a lot of things you’re labeling as “power-seeking” which feel inaccurate or at least quite unnatural to label as “power-seeking”, and I suspect that this will lead to confusion (or at worst, lead to some of the people you want to engage dismissing your valid points).
I think in your frame, Alice going to networking events would be seen as “there are some socially-accepted ways of seeking power” and in my frame this would be seen as “it doesn’t really make sense to call this power-seeking, as most people would find it ridiculous/weird to apply the label ‘power-seeking’ to an action as simple as going to a networking event.”
I’m also a bit worried about a motte-and-bailey here. The bold statement is “power-seeking (which I’m kind of defining as anything that increases your influence, regardless of how innocuous or socially accepted it seems) is bad because it triggers defense mechanisms” and the more moderated statement is “there are some specific ways of seeking power that have important social costs, and I think that some/many actors in the community underestimate those costs. Also, there are many strategies for achieving your goals that don’t involve seeking power, and I think some/many people in the community are underestimating those.”
Would you say that “Alice going to a networking event” (assume she’s doing it socially conventional/appropriate ways) would count as structural power-seeking? And would you discourage her from going?
I think you’re doing a paradox of the heap here. One grain of sand is obviously not a heap, but a million obviously is. Similarly, Alice going to one networking event is obviously not power-seeking, but Alice taking every opportunity she can to pitch herself to the most powerful people she can find obviously is. I’m identifying a pattern of behavior that AI safety exhibits significantly more than other communities, and the fair analogy is to a pattern of behavior that Alice exhibits significantly more than other people around her.
I’m also a bit worried about a motte-and-bailey here. The bold statement is “power-seeking (which I’m kind of defining as anything that increases your influence, regardless of how innocuous or socially accepted it seems) is bad because it triggers defense mechanisms”
I flagged several times in the post that I was not claiming that power-seeking is bad overall, just that it typically has this one bad effect.
the more moderated statement is “there are some specific ways of seeking power that have important social costs, and I think that some/many actors in the community underestimate those costs
I repudiated this position in my previous comment, where I flagged that I’m trying to make a claim not about specific ways of seeking power, but rather about the outcome of gaining power in general.
I’m not quite sure where we disagree, but if I had to put my finger on it, it’s something like “I don’t think that people would be offput by Alice going to networking events to try to get a job in housing policy, and I don’t think she would trigger any defense mechanisms.”
Specific question for you: Would you say that “Alice going to a networking event” (assume she’s doing it socially conventional/appropriate ways) would count as structural power-seeking? And would you discourage her from going?
More generally, there are a lot of things you’re labeling as “power-seeking” which feel inaccurate or at least quite unnatural to label as “power-seeking”, and I suspect that this will lead to confusion (or at worst, lead to some of the people you want to engage dismissing your valid points).
I think in your frame, Alice going to networking events would be seen as “there are some socially-accepted ways of seeking power” and in my frame this would be seen as “it doesn’t really make sense to call this power-seeking, as most people would find it ridiculous/weird to apply the label ‘power-seeking’ to an action as simple as going to a networking event.”
I’m also a bit worried about a motte-and-bailey here. The bold statement is “power-seeking (which I’m kind of defining as anything that increases your influence, regardless of how innocuous or socially accepted it seems) is bad because it triggers defense mechanisms” and the more moderated statement is “there are some specific ways of seeking power that have important social costs, and I think that some/many actors in the community underestimate those costs. Also, there are many strategies for achieving your goals that don’t involve seeking power, and I think some/many people in the community are underestimating those.”
I agree with the more moderated claims.
I think you’re doing a paradox of the heap here. One grain of sand is obviously not a heap, but a million obviously is. Similarly, Alice going to one networking event is obviously not power-seeking, but Alice taking every opportunity she can to pitch herself to the most powerful people she can find obviously is. I’m identifying a pattern of behavior that AI safety exhibits significantly more than other communities, and the fair analogy is to a pattern of behavior that Alice exhibits significantly more than other people around her.
I flagged several times in the post that I was not claiming that power-seeking is bad overall, just that it typically has this one bad effect.
I repudiated this position in my previous comment, where I flagged that I’m trying to make a claim not about specific ways of seeking power, but rather about the outcome of gaining power in general.