Presumably the relevance of AI forecasting and IEM to SuperBenefit is clear already?
Yes.
So, MIRI still has a lot of explaining to do, and we’re working on it. But allow me a brief reminder that this gap isn’t unique to MIRI at all. Arguing for the cost effectiveness of any particular intervention given the overwhelming importance of the far future is extremely complicated, whether it be donating to AMF, doing AI risk strategy, spreading rationality, or something else.
E.g. if somebody accepts the overwhelming importance of the far future and is donating to AMF, they have roughly as much explaining to do as MIRI does, if not more.
I basically agree with these comments, with a couple of qualifications.
I think it’s unique to MIRI in the sense that it makes sense for MIRI to be expected to explain how its research is going to accomplish its mission of making machine intelligence benefit humanity, whereas it doesn’t make sense for global health charities to be expected to explain why improving global health makes the far future go better. This means MIRI has an asymmetrically hard job, but I do think it’s a reasonable division of labor.
I think it makes sense for other people who care about the far future to evaluate how the other strategies you mentioned are expected to affect the far future, and try to find the best ones. There is an overwhelming amount of work to do.
I think it’s unique to MIRI in the sense that it makes sense for MIRI to be expected to explain how its research is going to accomplish its mission of making machine intelligence benefit humanity, whereas it doesn’t make sense for global health charities to be expected to explain why improving global health makes the far future go better.
Right. Very few charities are even claiming to be good for the far future. So there’s an asymmetry between MIRI and other charities w.r.t. responsibility to explain plausible effects on the far future. But among parties (including MIRI) who care principally about the far future and are trying to do something about it, there seems to be no such asymmetry — except for other reasons, e.g. asymmetry in resource use.
Yes.
I basically agree with these comments, with a couple of qualifications.
I think it’s unique to MIRI in the sense that it makes sense for MIRI to be expected to explain how its research is going to accomplish its mission of making machine intelligence benefit humanity, whereas it doesn’t make sense for global health charities to be expected to explain why improving global health makes the far future go better. This means MIRI has an asymmetrically hard job, but I do think it’s a reasonable division of labor.
I think it makes sense for other people who care about the far future to evaluate how the other strategies you mentioned are expected to affect the far future, and try to find the best ones. There is an overwhelming amount of work to do.
Right. Very few charities are even claiming to be good for the far future. So there’s an asymmetry between MIRI and other charities w.r.t. responsibility to explain plausible effects on the far future. But among parties (including MIRI) who care principally about the far future and are trying to do something about it, there seems to be no such asymmetry — except for other reasons, e.g. asymmetry in resource use.
Yes.