All of Elika's Comments + Replies

This is a tricky one and I'll speak to what I know but I'm not a legal expert. 

The vast majority of internships require the person to have a right to work in the U.S, so international students who have a visa status sponsored by their college or university, or are authorized to work in the U.S could intern but it depends on the place

Many Think Tanks (e.g. Brookings) allow this. 

Most executive agencies do not since US citizenship is required

For Congressional offices, from what I know, theoretically yes a foreign national could intern but I don't t... (read more)

Thanks Michel!! I'll also flag that if you're interested in applying or testing your fit in policy and would like support, fill out this form to get application support

Things we can help with:

• Whether or not you’d be a good fit for the positions
• Review your resume, cover letter & offices you’re interested in
• Accountability for submitting applications by the deadline

(based off of: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/pdMjPuddtHeLSBDiF/apply-to-fall-policy-internships-we-can-help) 

Unfortunately I don't know / think so for many congressional offices. They all should have a DC based internship and one in the home state if that's at all helpful. I know some think tanks offer remote internships too (ex. Brookings)!

Hi! I just wanted to say welcome and that I love the idea! I'm excited in general about it, think that it could be really promising for 'non'-EAs', and just love that you took an idea and put it into action :)

I strongly +1 the comment and really resonate with the below statement in particular. 

A lot may just want someone in a position of authority to say "hey, you may not realize, but you're making people uncomfortable"

Often I've felt strange about reporting minor instances where I felt a little uncomfortable and have also been unsure along the lines 'is serious enough? is a strange vibe reportable? etc'. Especially because in many of those situations I don't think the person/people were intentionally making me uncomfortable and just unaware. But at the sa... (read more)

Hi, thanks for the comments! Some broad thoughts in response:

Re

My impression is that one of the key defenses that the Fauci/NIH/EcoHealth/etc. offered for their research in Wuhan was that it was technically not Gain of Function, even if some parts of it might sound like Gain of Function to the layperson, which seems in tension with this claim. Do you think they were wrong about this?

It's hard for me to go into detail on a public platform on this (just to be cautious to my job) but I can broadly say that there's a difference between research that is a) gain... (read more)

Thanks!! Strongly agree on your points of the intrinsic value of understanding and being nuanced in this space, I just didn't have the words to frame it as well as you put it :)

Thanks! I do broadly agree with your points. I linked  reference 6 as an example of the benefits and nuances of dual-use research, but don't / shouldn't comment on COVID-19 origins and their views expressed on it.

Thanks!! This is great additional detail.

Thanks! I don't have any other one's I broadly recommend but happy to share topic specific resources if there's something in particular you're interested in. 

Strong +1!! Thanks :)

Thanks Ollie! Excited by the changes!

Hi Megan  - I just wanted to say thank you for writing this. For being you. For showing up. This so well encapsulates how I and so many others are feeling. I just wanted to say thank you <3

(and i'm tired too ). 

I can message you more if you want -  but generally I think doing 1-1's with new-er EA's (or people who wouldn't necessarily even call themselves an EA - like people in the intro. fellowship generally) requires extra transparency and communication around expectation setting and goals. 

This generally just for us looked like making it clear in the email / form what 1-1's are, what the purpose of them is, what it isn't (ex. it isn't making a career connection to simply get them to leave their job for an EA aligned one), etc. And then making it clear... (read more)

It’s the correct figure - catering in CA especially is just that expensive.

Catering can often be a lot more than $30 USD per person per meal. And it's also sometimes necessary to go with a certain catering company and meet a minimum in order to book a venue. 

Many venues don't let you bring in outside food. Catering is extremely overpriced (the cost per person per meal) and oftentimes you can't sign a contract for a venue without agreeing to catering costs. 

Thanks Nicole (and I'm impressed how quick you are on the write up)!! I'm so glad people enjoyed it. For other EAG / EAGx organisers - this was a great addition to our conference and was great as a tangible next step for what attendees could do to stay further engaged. Would highly recommend.

This is an amazing guide ❤️ Thank you for sharing!! I'd also be curious to see a post with more details on building the Spanish-speaking EA community (what you've done, what's been successful, etc) as a model for other community building efforts

Responding to the attention on Kathy's specific case (I'm aware I'm adding more to it) - I think we're detracting from the key argument that the EA community as a whole is neglecting to validate and support community members who experience bad things in the community 

In this  post, it's  women and sexual assault primarily. But there are other posts (1, 2) exempifying ways the EA community itself can and should prioritise internal community health.  To argue the truth of one specific example might be detracting from recognising that this... (read more)

That's a true point - but I don't a good objective. EA should  strive to exist with the best, highly-aligned to doing good people and I think we need a  culture the prioritises people's lived experiences, feelings, and interactions for that to happen. 

I'm strongly in favour of this - it often feels like the need is to make this public so it becomes something the entire community is responsible for - as opposed to how it currently is (private and something CEA's comm health mainly is responsible for). 

Your comment (at least how it's read as, maybe different from your intentions) reads as  "that's a particularly problematic location, just go to a different one". 

That doesn't solve the problem. That doesn't hold the Bay * or any community accountable or push for change in a positive direction. I think that sort of logic is  a common response to what Maya writes about and doesn't help or make anything better. 

*and this is coming from an ex-Berkeley community builder

(saying this in a friend capacity and in shock that I haven't introduced you two already) - you two should definitely talk! 

I love it! Also having a tag all the time for drafts and unfinished thoughts would be nice too? 

Thanks for sharing!

Yes, definitely! Here's a poorly formatted (sorry doesn't have links) list of relevant papers, there's this reading list, and this one,  and this forum post

Ooh a fun history less! Thanks! I'll edit it :) 

Thank you!!

Ooh sorry! I meant to add more and not be so vague and then forgot I published this and didn't edit it. I'll update it over the new few days hopefully

I have a long-ish list of research paper ideas on biosecurity and ethics. I'd be really helpful if there were people interested in doing some of this research or taking on projects

Edit: on hold, but thanks everyone :)

I'd support it! I'll pass it along to the team

Hi welcome :)

On career advice - have you talked to 80k or GCP? I'm also happy to talk 1-1 if I can be of any help.

On your study - would love to hear more about what it's on!

Welcome! Let me know if there's anything in specific I can help with

Thanks for this! I'm organising EAGxBerkeley and we have a post-EAGx plan that has some of the same stuff, but I'll try to incorporate more of your document. The main bottleneck is on my end (as an events organiser) is just people who can organising retreats and serious post-events. 

Welcome :) there's lots of readings about bioethics but I think thinking about lab safety, research ethics, and social value would be a great place to start learning

Welcome :) happy to chat if I can be of help in any way 

Please drop some papers (or drafts) so I can learn more about both of your works :)

Welcome! I'd love to read them if you want to drop a few links 

Great idea! Hopefully what we're developing is also a like 'group listserv' where it will show those in EA working on bioethics / bioethics aligned into EA. Right now there's no formal place for it but if you wanted to be super proactive, feel free to start a google doc or just a running list. I can help!

Welcome! I have a bioethics textbook I can give you :)

Welcome :) 

Do you happen to have readings on AI and ethics (not animals, more generally)? I'd really appreciate them. Especially if it's there's a bio focus too

Oh great! Welcome :) Happy to chat through ideas and help in any way if needed