We are discussing the debate statement: "On the margin[1], it is better to work on reducing the chance of our[2] extinction than increasing the value of futures where we survive[3]". You can find more information in this post.
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‘on the margin’ = think about where we would get the most value out of directing the next indifferent talented person, or indifferent funder.
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‘our’ and 'we' = earth-originating intelligent life (i.e. we aren’t just talking about humans because most of the value in expected futures is probably in worlds where digital minds matter morally and are flourishing)
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Through means other than extinction risk reduction.
36%➔ 29% disagreeWhile I don't entirely disregard x-risks, I have been unimpressed by the tractability of most interventions, excepting perhaps for bio-security ones.
The prevalent notion of "solving" the alignment problem as though it's a particularly hard math problem strikes me as overly represented, which entails neglecting other, more in-direct safety measures, like stable, transparent and trustworthy institutions, whether political or geopolitical (US-China war means what for AI?).
Relatedly, the harm aversion/moral purity signaling around working in AI companies (especially Anthropic!) seems counterproductive and yet has received ~no push back. It seems obvious to me that having concerned individuals (rather than E-acc ideologues) in high positions in companies is very important! I suspect that the dominance of Doomerism in AI Safety over more epistemically sound concerns is to blame.