All of Ilya's Comments + Replies

To me development of category "reducing suffering/connecting" is the most interesting and meaningful as a seed from which everything optimally (effectively) grows. I wish to see at least 1 out of 100 intellectuals to ask question about hierarchy of life purpose and meaning, and then what makes their life effective relatively to life purpose.

80000 is overloaded with its own burdens and does not have optimal resourcefulness to effectively develop a new practical large-scale initiative. Announcing the Good Technology Project has to grow as a new grassroot movement and organization.

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Gleb_T
8y
Good point, updated toward the benefit of the GTP.

I am very happy to see Announcing the Good Technology Project exploring its mission. This is very unique what you are trying to advance. I am 100% supporting.

Chris and Patrick have made the Podcast via radio a valuable economical resource to communicate and learn without visual component, thus enabling blind or low-vision people to learn and share the EA experiences, and also via low-speed internet .

Vincent, thank you referencing The High Impact Network, which stimulated my further comment to Uri, and an opportunity to meet Brooklyn members of THINK.

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Vincent_deB
9y
I'm pleased to hear that!

Hi Uri, I guess there is no modern (21st century) data yet on potential return of localized outreach because the Oxford-style EA mentality is very young, though the great minds thousand years ago have found the best answers to the challenge of best purpose/meaning of human life. My intuition tells me that the most effective way to actualize EA causes would be through creation of small teams/groups/collectives able of sustainable economical and ideological exchange with the environment. My assumption is that members of such a group recognize their need fo... (read more)

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UriKatz
9y
Thank you for your offer to help me further, but having reviewed the link posted by Vincent, I am certain I do not have the time to start a local chapter right now.
Ilya
9y-1
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Uri, it is my understanding that a better EA model of a startup would be a collective one, than individualistic. Your business will grow faster by creating and growing a larger team. For example, if your current team needs 12 month of full time work to complete the startup phase, then by increasing the team 3 times, the work may be accomplished in 3 month.
I am interested to learn nature of your startup for more qualified communications with you.

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UriKatz
9y
Hi Ilya, thanks for your reply. I may have misunderstood you, but your example seems not to take into account the overhead of managing a larger team, or the diminishing returns of each additional staff member. This goes to the heart of my question: what would be the most effective way for each individual to further EA causes? Should they work full time and donate more, or work part time and do other things (this question may only apply to those who are earning to give). This question can best be determined on a case by case basis of course. It relates to the current article, because I was wondering if anyone tried to analyze the potential returns of localized outreach. I can compare such an analysis to the estimates I have of my startup's risks and rewards. These are numbers I prefer not to mention, mainly because they are highly speculative.

Michelle, my great respect for work you and your organization are doing.

I am not a native English speaker, and it will take me long time to get 10 karmas, unless members of this forum accelerate me.

I am not a member of GWWC. Not Yet. I even did not know 3 weeks ago that EA-minded organizations exist. My remarks to you this post are as follows:

  1. “to improve the lives of others” sounds better to me than ” to help people in developing countries”.

  2. “Pledge” sounds heavy loaded of many meanings, confusing people and potential donors. http://www.merria

... (read more)

I sent 2 days ago a private message to your mail box at this forum. Did you receive it?

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Evan_Gaensbauer
9y
Yeah, I did. I'll send you a message to your private email address you shared with me. Sorry I didn't respond in a timely fashion. I've been swamped the last few days.
Ilya
9y-4
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We must educate public and politicians and promote policies of human services decisions based on optimizing cost-effectiveness for total benefit of human population. Foe example, dogs for blind people can be trained in other countries at a fraction what it costs in America.

1[comment deleted]2y

Evan, your suggestion of usability testing makes sense to me. I just don't have enough energy or experience to undertake such work alone. Can you help in setting up a test activity/project?

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Evan_Gaensbauer
9y
Yeah, okay. Send me a private message about it, and we can discuss what either of us have in mind.

Peter, I agree that more people will be educated, better sooner than later, into giving by example. The main obstacle is that today’s public education systems do not recognize relevance of effective teaching, in rational-meaningful ways, basic priorities/ values of social harmony and peace. Crucial to any advancement of effective giving is creating sustainable flourishing connectivity among individuals who acknowledge primacy of altruistic inclination for survival and happiness of humanity. I believe that at this time the focus of our efforts has to be... (read more)

Neil, I agree with your sentiment that declarative phrase “effective altruist” is an ideal/abstraction. No mortal can be true (100%) effective altruist. Term “effective altruist” will confuse most people. It also infers ideology “effective altruism”.

I feel that translating declarative abstract meaning into operational average-person words shall help better sustain common sense of what we want to do. Take popular key words, having altruistic flavors, such as voluntarism, charity, giving, etc., and decorate them with qualifiers that imply a degree of effectiveness relatively to an average person cognition. For example, phrases like Charity Wise, Giving It Right, Smart Givers, Giving With Wisdom, etc.

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Evan_Gaensbauer
9y
I don't know how really usable you might intend those examples to be, but they could be tested out to see what if we ourselves like using them.

Can't get it how the content of your essay relates to the notion of this extreme altruism, which is by definition is practical concept having its goal to do more now rather than in 10 years, let alone 100 years. In last 100 years millions of pages have been written by academics and lay people, yet 0.01% of that "mental sweat" had constructive utility to the humankind.

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Niel_Bowerman
9y
Hi Ilya, I think the reason that Paul is discussing this is because he values everyone equally, regardless of when they exist. And thus he is trying to figure out what actions people should take now in order to maximise the impact he can have on everyone in the world at all times. I agree with your sentiment that much academic work has had little to no utility to humankind (the median published paper is cited once apparently), however there are some questions such as "how can I do as much good as possible" that are significantly understudied, and so I think Paul is contributing there. Additionally I know many people who are pursuing technology entrepreneurship and so articles like this one will help them choose which areas they should be working in.

Spreading efficiently effective altruism is absolutely necessary, and needs a right educational methodology for all segments of demographics. I propose that this forum attempt bringing in willing and able people who shall form a Work Group that can create Effective Altruism Education Program (EAEP).

There have always been some effective altruists “discarded” around the world. But only in the 21st century, thanks to the advancement of the internet and skyrocketing existential threats, such people have ways to connect into a cohesive viable group, thus making a kernel of the world to come.

My first effective altruism (EA) activity was spending time and energy looking up in the internet several altruistic phrases, such as "rational altruism" “naïve altruism“ , “wise altruism“, “mature altruism“, "genetic altruism", "pragmatic altruism". I am interested in understanding how a person’s worldview may effectively transition from naïve to mature altruistic states of mind. Any ideas?

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Niel_Bowerman
9y
I'd recommend reading the links offered here: http://effectivealtruism.org/resources/#reading They are some useful introductory articles to effective altruism.