Perhaps part of the difficulty here is the attempt to spur a wide rationalist community on the same site frequented by rationalists with strong obscure positions on obscure topics.
Early in Lesswrong discussion of FAI was discouraged so that it didn’t just become a site about FAI and the singularity, but a forum about human rationality more generally.
I can’t track down an article[s] from EY about how thinking about AI can be too absorbing, and how in order properly create a community, you have to truly put aside the ulterior motive of advancing FAI research.
It might be wise for us to again deliberately shift our focus away from FAI and onto human rationality and how it can be applied more widely (say to science in general.)
Enter the SSP: For months now I’ve been brainstorming a community to educate people on the creation and use of 3D printers, with the eventual goal of making much better 3D printers. So this is a different big complicated problem with a potential high payoff, and it ties into many fields, provides tangible previews of the singularity, can benefit from the involvement of people with almost any skill set, and seems to be much safer than advancing AI, nanotech, or genetic engineering.
I had already intended to introduce rationality concepts where applicable and link a lot to Lesswrong. but if a few LWers were willing to help, It could become a standalone community of people committed to thinking clearly about complex technical and social problems, with a latent obsession with 3D printers.
Warning: Shameless Self Promotion ahead
Perhaps part of the difficulty here is the attempt to spur a wide rationalist community on the same site frequented by rationalists with strong obscure positions on obscure topics.
Early in Lesswrong discussion of FAI was discouraged so that it didn’t just become a site about FAI and the singularity, but a forum about human rationality more generally.
I can’t track down an article[s] from EY about how thinking about AI can be too absorbing, and how in order properly create a community, you have to truly put aside the ulterior motive of advancing FAI research.
It might be wise for us to again deliberately shift our focus away from FAI and onto human rationality and how it can be applied more widely (say to science in general.)
Enter the SSP: For months now I’ve been brainstorming a community to educate people on the creation and use of 3D printers, with the eventual goal of making much better 3D printers. So this is a different big complicated problem with a potential high payoff, and it ties into many fields, provides tangible previews of the singularity, can benefit from the involvement of people with almost any skill set, and seems to be much safer than advancing AI, nanotech, or genetic engineering.
I had already intended to introduce rationality concepts where applicable and link a lot to Lesswrong. but if a few LWers were willing to help, It could become a standalone community of people committed to thinking clearly about complex technical and social problems, with a latent obsession with 3D printers.