Thank you, Maya, for sharing your concerns about some of the challenges you've experienced in the EA space. It can feel especially disappointing when those we hold in high regard prove to be all-too-human.
It's a truism to state that the challenges you point out are occurring with regularity in and out of the EA community. However, as part of an EA ecosystem minority group, you bear an undue share of the burden.
As you point out, attracting a more diverse group to the EA community is critical to keeping EA relevant in the future. Diversity is not a "nice-to-have." Diversity is a mission imperative if we are to collectively maximize effectiveness.
To be clear, attracting and developing diversity will create friction in the short term. In the best case, that will manifest as low-grade friction in perpetuity as new voices are introduced to challenge our thinking. The resulting conversations, thought processes and solutions will be more effective in the long term.
The movement may well be near an inflection point regarding accountability. Holding certain influencers or leaders in an "untouchable" status will only harm the EA community in the long term. Accountability is a baseline assumption that must be met for EA principles to be considered credible.
Thank you, Maya, for sharing your concerns about some of the challenges you've experienced in the EA space. It can feel especially disappointing when those we hold in high regard prove to be all-too-human.
It's a truism to state that the challenges you point out are occurring with regularity in and out of the EA community. However, as part of an EA ecosystem minority group, you bear an undue share of the burden.
As you point out, attracting a more diverse group to the EA community is critical to keeping EA relevant in the future. Diversity is not a "nice-to-have." Diversity is a mission imperative if we are to collectively maximize effectiveness.
To be clear, attracting and developing diversity will create friction in the short term. In the best case, that will manifest as low-grade friction in perpetuity as new voices are introduced to challenge our thinking. The resulting conversations, thought processes and solutions will be more effective in the long term.
The movement may well be near an inflection point regarding accountability. Holding certain influencers or leaders in an "untouchable" status will only harm the EA community in the long term. Accountability is a baseline assumption that must be met for EA principles to be considered credible.