Universities aren’t known for getting things done. Corporations are. Are you trying to signal exclusivity and prestige, or are you trying to save the lightcone?
Universities are pretty well known for getting things done. Most nobel prize winning work happens in them, for instance. It’s just that the things they do are not optimized for being the things corporations do.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t be actually trying to hire people. In fact I have a post from last year saying that exact thing. But if you think corporations are the model for what we should be going for, I think we have very different mechanistic models of how research gets done.
Getting an advanced degree in, say, CS, qualifies me to work for many different companies. Racking up karma posting mathematically rigorous research on the Alignment Forum qualifies me to work at one (1) place: MIRI. If I take the “PhD in CS” route, I have power to negotiate my salary, to be selective about who I work for. Every step I take along the Alignment Forum path is wasted[1] unless MIRI deigns to let me in.
I’m under the impression that that’s partially a sign of civilizational failure from metastasizing bureaucracies. I’ve always heard that the ultra-successful Silicon Valley companies never required a degree (and also that that meritocratic culture has eroded and been partially replaced by credentialism, causing stasis).
EDIT: to be clear, this means I disagree with the ridiculous hyperbole upthread of it being “cultish”, and in a lot of ways I’m sure the barriers to employment in traditional fields are higher. Still, as an outsider who’s missing lots of relevant info, it does seem like it should be possible to do a lot better.
Universities aren’t known for getting things done. Corporations are. Are you trying to signal exclusivity and prestige, or are you trying to save the lightcone?
Universities are pretty well known for getting things done. Most nobel prize winning work happens in them, for instance. It’s just that the things they do are not optimized for being the things corporations do.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t be actually trying to hire people. In fact I have a post from last year saying that exact thing. But if you think corporations are the model for what we should be going for, I think we have very different mechanistic models of how research gets done.
You took the words right out of my draft comment.
Corporations also often require advanced degrees in specific fields. Or multiple years of work experience.
Getting an advanced degree in, say, CS, qualifies me to work for many different companies. Racking up karma posting mathematically rigorous research on the Alignment Forum qualifies me to work at one (1) place: MIRI. If I take the “PhD in CS” route, I have power to negotiate my salary, to be selective about who I work for. Every step I take along the Alignment Forum path is wasted[1] unless MIRI deigns to let me in.
Not counting positive externalities
See my reply to benjamin upthread.
I’m under the impression that that’s partially a sign of civilizational failure from metastasizing bureaucracies. I’ve always heard that the ultra-successful Silicon Valley companies never required a degree (and also that that meritocratic culture has eroded and been partially replaced by credentialism, causing stasis).
EDIT: to be clear, this means I disagree with the ridiculous hyperbole upthread of it being “cultish”, and in a lot of ways I’m sure the barriers to employment in traditional fields are higher. Still, as an outsider who’s missing lots of relevant info, it does seem like it should be possible to do a lot better.