The questions: Is this real or not? What, if anything, should anyone do, with this knowledge in hand?
I can attest to the validity of the premise you’re raising based on my own experience, but there are multiple factors at play. One is the scarcity of resources, which tends to limit opportunities to groups or teams that can demonstrably make effective use of those resources—whether it’s time, funds, or mentorship. Another factor that is less frequently discussed is the courage to deviate from conventional thinking. It’s inherently risky to invest in emerging alignment researchers who haven’t yet produced tangible results. Making such choices based on a gut feeling of their potential to deliver meaningful contributions can seem unreasonable, especially to funders. There are more layers to this, but nevertherless didn’t took any bad blood about what is the landscape. It is what it is.
I can attest to the validity of the premise you’re raising based on my own experience, but there are multiple factors at play. One is the scarcity of resources, which tends to limit opportunities to groups or teams that can demonstrably make effective use of those resources—whether it’s time, funds, or mentorship. Another factor that is less frequently discussed is the courage to deviate from conventional thinking. It’s inherently risky to invest in emerging alignment researchers who haven’t yet produced tangible results. Making such choices based on a gut feeling of their potential to deliver meaningful contributions can seem unreasonable, especially to funders. There are more layers to this, but nevertherless didn’t took any bad blood about what is the landscape. It is what it is.