Sure MIRI isn’t a cult, but I didn’t say it was. I pointed out that Eliezer does play a huge role in it and he’s unusually vulnerable to ad hominem attack. If anyone does that, your going with “whatever his flaws” isn’t going to sound great to your audience.
I think I’d point out that he’s a fairly public person, which both should increase trust and gives more material for ad hominem attacks. And once someone else has dragged the discussion down to a personal level, you might as well throw in appeals to authority with Elon Musk on AI risk, i.e. change the subject.
Sure MIRI isn’t a cult, but I didn’t say it was. I pointed out that Eliezer does play a huge role in it and he’s unusually vulnerable to ad hominem attack. If anyone does that, your going with “whatever his flaws” isn’t going to sound great to your audience.
How would you recommend responding?
I think I’d point out that he’s a fairly public person, which both should increase trust and gives more material for ad hominem attacks. And once someone else has dragged the discussion down to a personal level, you might as well throw in appeals to authority with Elon Musk on AI risk, i.e. change the subject.