And note that these improvements would not and could not have happened without more funding than the level of previous years
Given the several year lag between funding increases and the listed improvements, it appears that this was less a result of a prepared plan and more a process of underutilized resources attracting a mix of parasites (the theft) and talent (hopefully the more recent staff additions).
Which goes towards a critical question in terms of future funding: is SIAI primarily constrained in its mission by resources or competence?
Of course, the related question is: what is SIAI’s mission? Someone donating primarily for AGI research might not count recent efforts (LW, rationality camps, etc) as improvements.
What should a potential donor expect from money invested into this organization going forward? Internally, what are your metrics for evaluation?
Edited to add: I think that the spin-off of the rationality efforts is a good step towards answering these questions.
Given the several year lag between funding increases and the listed improvements, it appears that this was less a result of a prepared plan and more a process of underutilized resources attracting a mix of parasites (the theft) and talent (hopefully the more recent staff additions).
Which goes towards a critical question in terms of future funding: is SIAI primarily constrained in its mission by resources or competence?
Of course, the related question is: what is SIAI’s mission? Someone donating primarily for AGI research might not count recent efforts (LW, rationality camps, etc) as improvements.
What should a potential donor expect from money invested into this organization going forward? Internally, what are your metrics for evaluation?
Edited to add: I think that the spin-off of the rationality efforts is a good step towards answering these questions.