My post was by way of explaining why some people (including myself) doubt the claims of SIAI. People doubt claims when, compared to other claims, they’re not justified as rigorously, or haven’t met certain public standards. Why do I agree with the main post that Eliezer isn’t justified in his opinion of his own importance (and SIAI’s importance)? Because there isn’t (yet) a lot beyond speculation here.
I understand about limited resources. If I were trying to run a foundation like SIAI, I might do exactly what it’s doing, at first, and then try to get the academic credentials. But as an outside person, trying to determine: is this worth my time? Is this worth further study? Is this a field I could work in? Is this worth my giving away part of my (currently puny) income in donations? I’m likely to hold off until I see something stronger.
And I’m likely to be turned off by statements with a tone that assumes anyone sufficiently rational should already be on board. Well, no! It’s not an obvious, open-and shut deal.
What if there were an organization comprised of idealistic, speculative types, who, unknowingly, got themselves to believe something completely false based on sketchy philosophical arguments? They might look a lot like SIAI. Could an outside observer distinguish fruitful non-mainstream speculation from pointless non-mainstream speculation?
My post was by way of explaining why some people (including myself) doubt the claims of SIAI. People doubt claims when, compared to other claims, they’re not justified as rigorously, or haven’t met certain public standards. Why do I agree with the main post that Eliezer isn’t justified in his opinion of his own importance (and SIAI’s importance)? Because there isn’t (yet) a lot beyond speculation here.
I understand about limited resources. If I were trying to run a foundation like SIAI, I might do exactly what it’s doing, at first, and then try to get the academic credentials. But as an outside person, trying to determine: is this worth my time? Is this worth further study? Is this a field I could work in? Is this worth my giving away part of my (currently puny) income in donations? I’m likely to hold off until I see something stronger.
And I’m likely to be turned off by statements with a tone that assumes anyone sufficiently rational should already be on board. Well, no! It’s not an obvious, open-and shut deal.
What if there were an organization comprised of idealistic, speculative types, who, unknowingly, got themselves to believe something completely false based on sketchy philosophical arguments? They might look a lot like SIAI. Could an outside observer distinguish fruitful non-mainstream speculation from pointless non-mainstream speculation?
I think they are working on their “academic credentials”:
http://singinst.org/grants/challenge
...lists some 13 academic papers under various stages of development.