Oh, I agree that utilitarian considerations, particularly in the case of an existential threat, might warrant breaking a norm. I’m not saying Toner did anything wrong in any objective sense, I don’t have a very strong view about that. I’m just trying to question Zvi’s argument that Sam and OpenAI did something unusually bad in the way they responded to Toner’s choice. It may be the case that Toner did the right and honorable thing given the position she was in and the information she had, and also that Sam and openAI did the normal and boring thing in response to that.
You do seem to be equivocating somewhat between board members (who have no formal authority in an organization) and the board itself (which has the ultimate authority in an organization). To say that a dissenting board member should resign before speaking out publicly is very different from saying that the board itself should not act when it (meaning the majority of its members) believe there is a problem. As I am reading the events here, Toner published her article before the board decided that there was something wrong and that action needed to be taken. I think everyone agrees that when the board concludes that something is wrong, it should act.
Oh, I agree that utilitarian considerations, particularly in the case of an existential threat, might warrant breaking a norm. I’m not saying Toner did anything wrong in any objective sense, I don’t have a very strong view about that. I’m just trying to question Zvi’s argument that Sam and OpenAI did something unusually bad in the way they responded to Toner’s choice. It may be the case that Toner did the right and honorable thing given the position she was in and the information she had, and also that Sam and openAI did the normal and boring thing in response to that.
You do seem to be equivocating somewhat between board members (who have no formal authority in an organization) and the board itself (which has the ultimate authority in an organization). To say that a dissenting board member should resign before speaking out publicly is very different from saying that the board itself should not act when it (meaning the majority of its members) believe there is a problem. As I am reading the events here, Toner published her article before the board decided that there was something wrong and that action needed to be taken. I think everyone agrees that when the board concludes that something is wrong, it should act.