I’ve been writing the EA Newsletter and running the EA Forum for three years, and I’m currently a facilitator for the In-Depth EA Program, so I think I’ve learned enough about EA not to be too naïve.
I’m also an employee of Open Philanthropy starting January 3rd, though I don’t speak for them here.
Given your hypothetical and a few minutes of thought, I’d want Open Phil to write the check. It seems like an incredible buy given their stated funding standards for health interventions and reasonable assumptions about the “fewer manufacturing plants” counterfactual. (This makes me wonder whether Alexander Berger is among the leaders you mentioned, though I assume you can’t say.)
Are any of the arguments that you heard against doing so available for others to read? And were the people you heard back from unanimous?
I ask not in the spirit of doubt, but in the spirit of “I’m surprised and trying to figure things out”.
(Also, David Manheim is a major researcher in the EA community, which makes the whole situation/debate feel especially strange. I’d guess that he has more influence on actually EA-funded COVID decisions than most of the people I’d classify as “EA leaders”.)
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I’ve been writing the EA Newsletter and running the EA Forum for three years, and I’m currently a facilitator for the In-Depth EA Program, so I think I’ve learned enough about EA not to be too naïve.
I’m also an employee of Open Philanthropy starting January 3rd, though I don’t speak for them here.
Given your hypothetical and a few minutes of thought, I’d want Open Phil to write the check. It seems like an incredible buy given their stated funding standards for health interventions and reasonable assumptions about the “fewer manufacturing plants” counterfactual. (This makes me wonder whether Alexander Berger is among the leaders you mentioned, though I assume you can’t say.)
Are any of the arguments that you heard against doing so available for others to read? And were the people you heard back from unanimous?
I ask not in the spirit of doubt, but in the spirit of “I’m surprised and trying to figure things out”.
(Also, David Manheim is a major researcher in the EA community, which makes the whole situation/debate feel especially strange. I’d guess that he has more influence on actually EA-funded COVID decisions than most of the people I’d classify as “EA leaders”.)