Let me disclose first that I have no idea how to fix this problem. I don’t mean the problem of getting all longevists to freeze their cells, I mean the problem of getting them to take information from the world of science and biomedicine and applying it to themselves. To become users of the technology they are boasters of. To behave rationally in a CFAR or even homo economicus sense.
Most people choose their behaviors based on the behaviors of their peers. You didn’t go on Google Scholar to read about the risks of alcohol and make a rational decision before you took your first drink, you did it because your friends did it. (As an illustration, if you read the literature on TDCS (zapping your brain with electricity to cure depression and do various other stuff), you’ll find that it’s quite harmless, whereas if you read the literature on alcohol, you’ll learn of the many ways that it can kill you. Yet many people who happily binge drink are leery about zapping their brains with electricity… until they see their friends do it, of course.) So, to spread a new behavior, you want to spread it like any other meme. Start with high status people if you can. Look how much more seriously people are taking AI risk now that an Oxford professor and Elon Musk are its public face. (I actually have no problem with this, by the way. Delegating belief formation to high status people is not a terrible idea, especially if the high status people are highly intelligent and rational and they’re listened to by the general population.)
Most people choose their behaviors based on the behaviors of their peers. You didn’t go on Google Scholar to read about the risks of alcohol and make a rational decision before you took your first drink, you did it because your friends did it. (As an illustration, if you read the literature on TDCS (zapping your brain with electricity to cure depression and do various other stuff), you’ll find that it’s quite harmless, whereas if you read the literature on alcohol, you’ll learn of the many ways that it can kill you. Yet many people who happily binge drink are leery about zapping their brains with electricity… until they see their friends do it, of course.) So, to spread a new behavior, you want to spread it like any other meme. Start with high status people if you can. Look how much more seriously people are taking AI risk now that an Oxford professor and Elon Musk are its public face. (I actually have no problem with this, by the way. Delegating belief formation to high status people is not a terrible idea, especially if the high status people are highly intelligent and rational and they’re listened to by the general population.)