All of KMF's Comments + Replies
I am listening to this- I agree it's really interesting. Does anyone know whether there been an "investigation" (can't think of a better word here) into the account of the CFAR workshop they attended? CFAR is still operating, that said, I don't see much EA funding going to it at least recently. Thanks!
"2023: Magnify Mentoring expands to serve people from underrepresented groups generally. “It includes, but is not limited to, people from low to middle income countries, people of color, people from low-income households, etc.” - The intention here was to pilot a round for people from underrepresented groups not captured by gender. We haven't reached consensus as to whether we will continue. It depends mostly on the impact asssessment of the round (which concludes this month). While it is accurate to say Magnify initially focused on improving diversit...
A quick annoucement that Magnify mentee applications are now open!
Magnify mentee applications are currently open!
We would love to hear from you if you are a woman, non-binary person, or trans person of any gender who is enthusiastic about pursuing a high-impact career using evidence-based approaches. Please apply here by the 18th March.
Past mentees have been most successful when they have a clear sense of what they would like to achieve through the 6-month mentorship program. We look to match pairings based on the needs and availabil...
Hi all! A heads up that it is that time again - Magnify mentee applications are open :) More below. Thank you so much :)
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"Magnify Mentoring applications are now open for women, non-binary, and trans people of all genders who are looking to pursue high impact careers. You can apply here. Applications will close on the 10th July 2024.
Past mentees have been particularly successful when they have a sense of what they would like to achieve through mentorship. The matching process normally takes us between 4-6 weeks. We look to match pairings ...
Firm separation sounds great to me. I just also want to voice something like "Many people in the community have firmly taken strong stances" but regardless of what we say or do get lumped in with a load of stuff that we've pretty clearly said we find abhorrent and have firmly exiled from our community spaces (Im thinking of the case of Vassar here but also Im pretty sure they don't want to be in EA spaces anyway because they aren't EA!).
Huw: To what extent is this EA verses rationality? Above you keep saying, "EA needs to" but these are ultimately rationalist conferences. For example, I'm not sure what more we can do to loudly signal Vassar isn't EA. He's banned from literally everything and has been for coming up to 10 years. I am pretty sure that extends to multiple people listed here. I am just not sure how public those decisions are so I will stop listing but (shoots karma into space) I wouldn't go near half of these people with a 60 foot long stick.
Above you keep saying, "EA needs to" but these are ultimately rationalist conferences.
Steelmanning Huw's comments, I interpret "it is equally up to EA to decide where to draw the line out of their own best interests" as speaking out against certain things and being very careful to not give the impression of accepting or tolerating them. Indicia exist that could cause a reasonable person to think that Manifest was somehow related to EA -- it was promoted on this Forum, Manifold has received significant funding from an "EA" coded source (i.e., FTXFF), a numb...
Hi without speaking for the organizers. My understanding is that the regulation requires that new buildings in the UK have separate, single-sex bathrooms. The Gov.UK website essentially says this is to avoid the "SOLE installation of gender-neutral facilities." My impression is that gender-neutral toilets with multiple cubicles will be banned in new builds but not (for example) a toilet and sink in a private room (like what you typically see provided for people with disabilities). It seems (from an 80/20 look at the regulation) that "new" is a key qualifie...
Pulling out a quick Magnify Mentoring update from the upcoming EA Newsletter.
- We have launched a database of job seekers. If you are a recruiter at an organization working on evidence-based interventions to make the world better, please reach out to us.
- We are planning to run a pilot project to evaluate the viability and usefulness of running additional mentorship rounds targeting individuals belonging to groups typically underrepresented in our focus areas. If the pilot is successful Magnify would continue to run two rounds per year for wom
Hi Paula, (1) "I encourage the FEM team to engage in more rigorous research and to focus on capacity-building..." FWIW, I think giving the organization (who are engaging with this thread) more time to respond on the point you raise about the PMA survey would be significantly preferable than making a conclusion in either direction at least based on my reading of this thread. (2)"...partnering with other organizations that have a great deal of experience working in this space over a long period of time..." Two separate points: a. to what extent do you ...
FWIW: I want to offer a strong dissenting voice that I do not like how this has been handled in this comment section. Saying something isn't intended to be harsh and mean doesn't make it not harsh and mean. You can point out things that concern you without singling out individual people and I think the average person would have found this incredibly hurtful and off-putting.
Thank you so much. Magnify Mentoring would put to excellent use further donation support from the community. We have 200 mentee applications this time which I am currently reviewing and matching. On specific support, I am aware of Magnify Mentoring's work, Epoch and FRI's Mentorship program, and GPI's recent programming. I am also working out whether we (Magnify) should do some Bay-specific event programming (think activities to further create a warm, welcoming space, focused on cheap information dissemination and career building activities) and I ex...
Hi Liv :)
Look at the swap card user database well in advance, identify who you want to talk to, and book meetings early with them (particularly if they are recruiters or mid-senior career professionals). Take notes during the meeting so you know what you talked about. Get an email for follow-up actions if there are any. I don't remember meetings after so I rely on the other person to follow up unless it's me asking them for help. I also stake a table near a meeting point so I don't have to find people and do walking coffee meetings or form a fet...
Lilly: I am so pleased to read this- thank you for sharing your experiences with our network.
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I hope it is appropriate to mention here, on the note of EA funding, that Magnify Mentoring got close to the wire funding-wise this time. Thanks to incredible individuals from our network, we now have enough funding to open rounds for applications in May to coincide with EAG London. We are not yet at our total fundraising 2023 goals. We are so excited to be able to welcome our new cohort of mentees though! :) If I can do anything at all to help in the...
@MagnifyMentoring and specifically @KMF were pivotal for my career direction, success, and emotional health. MM helped me build the confidence and systems I needed to move forward at a time I felt I couldn't, and Kathryn specifically went above and beyond to support me. This was the first time I felt I could be vulnerable and honest about my difficulties and limitations, and–contrary to all my expectations–I received acceptance, care, encouragement, and practical help.
I know for a fact I wouldn't be where I am now without Kathryn and my direct ...
Magnify Mentoring is so great and I'm really glad they exist! I got a lot out of the conversations with my mentor. Hope they continue to get funding!!
5k to AMF
I would personally strongly prefer a bet where the money ends up either in my pocket or in a charity of my choice.
Initially I was asking against how much you would bet al your money, i.e., against $1, $10, $50, etc, i.e., how much I would have to bet on my side. But I think you answered the other side, i.e., how much you would bet on your side?
didn't intentionally forward it knowing it was confidential and instead made an innocent mistake
So I agree that in particular seems very likely (though I'd still bet, e.g. $1 against your $5k). I'm mo...
FWIW: I've known Julia for nearly 10 years. She is scrupulously honest and careful. I would bet all the money I have (literally not figuratively) that she just made an honest mistake. I also don't understand how this is relevant to the current complaint (FTX). This happened years ago and she's already publically commented on it and apologized.
Edited to add: I am seeing a pattern where commentaries lately pull out individual mistakes from any time frame and of any type to support a broader image of EA as committing malfeasance. I think thi...
While I respect the inside view information you would have about Julia Wise's personality given your position, you should keep in mind that what you're saying is exactly what William MacAskill would have told us about Sam Bankman-Fried two months ago.
I found her apology unpersuasive and the events surrounding the publication of Guzey's post, including MacAskill's behavior, were quite strange. I wouldn't say I'm confident of anything but I wouldn't be surprised if leaking Guzey's private draft was planned on their part.
Hey :) I was raped before I was involved in EA. I normally find these discussions hard and frustrating. I feel we often talk past one another and that the people with similar experiences withdraw because it's still painful/ they get frustrated and hurt. I would like people like me to know: 1. There are a lot of people who have similar experiences to me who are active in the EA community. You may not see them here because of the aforementioned issue but we are here. 2. There are a lot of people who take these issues very seriously, including me, 3. I trust ...
Hi hi :) Are you involved in the Magnify Mentoring community at all? I've been poorly for the last couple of weeks so I'm a bit behind but I founded and run MM. Personally, I'd also love to chat :) Feel free to reach out anytime. Super Warmly, Kathryn
Thanks so much, Richard! :) Correct link. All of this is what I would have said 10 days ago. These are *MY* thoughts they are not Magnify’s thoughts- any controversies are mine alone.
(1) Not specific to the EA community but I wish people were kinder to one another and took more time to learn about each other's experiences, why they may have the feelings, and thoughts that they do, and where it is coming from. I think spaces that prioritize empathy and understanding are more conducive to working on fixing these problems together:
- There are small t
We can't take on everyone who applies so we are not the whole answer but I as an individual am always happy to chat with people from underrepresented groups Magnify Mentoring the organization continues to take on hundreds of people (currently women, non-binary and trans people of all genders) for mentoring per 6-months which we will continue doing as long as the average results continue to support such an initiative (which thus far they do). We welcome support and as an individual and possibly as an organization, I welcome the opportunity to support efforts and further productive attention in this space. Thanks :)
"We will be fulfilling our role as event organizers by mitigating risks to our participants, to the extent that we reasonably can (based on CFAR's past mistakes and also based on our own experience and judgment). And our participants will decide if they trust us enough to come to an immersive workshop with a bunch of other humans who they will interact with for 4.5 days."
I was recently asked for recommendations of people who might like to attend. I would find it more useful to know what safeguards, if any, are now in place to avoid sim...
Hi there! I would love to connect :) I am the CEO of Magnify Mentoring -I am over at kathryn@magnifymentoring.org. Thank you!
Hi :) I'd love to chat. My name is Kathryn and I am the CEO of Magnify Mentoring <https://www.magnifymentoring.org/>. You seem to have a strong CV and I'd be interested in learning more about your interests as I am quite frequently asked for candidate recommendations. I can be reached at kathryn@magnifymentoring.org. Many thanks!
Elle: I'd love to chat. My name is Kathryn and I am the CEO of Magnify Mentoring <https://www.magnifymentoring.org/>. You seem to have a strong CV and I'd be interested in learning more about your interests as I am quite frequently asked for candidate recommendations. I can be reached at kathryn@magnifymentoring.org. Many thanks!
Hey :) Just a data point that I downvoted this because:
a. I would like to encourage environments in EA which are mutually supportive and kind. I think that there is already significant social pressure to be okay with receiving feedback at any time and in any form.
b. I think feedback is very important but generally, we want to prioritize results. How will the person getting the feedback best use it as a tool to learn and grow? What I have read seems to suggest that feedback is most effective in a pre-existing relationship of trust, and em...
I would like to encourage environments in EA which are mutually supportive and kind.
For what it's worth, my experience of Doom Circles is that they felt explicitly supportive and kind. It felt like other people were willing to pay a social cost to give me honest feedback in a way that they would otherwise feel hesitant to do, and I appreciated them doing that for me.
The incentives are to provide harsh critique to appear novel and insightful of the other person.
I wouldn't say that there's an incentive to be harsh, since while you are providing f...
Update: New section added on the role of feedback in mentorship relationships. I additionally highlighted our recent Status Update:
WANBAM released their blog post “WANBAM: Successes and challenges from our first two years.” The post summarizes their activities, initial results, and their risk mitigation steps.
I really love this article, thank you for taking the time to put it together. Obviously, I am biased, but I think a potentially strong second conclusion is that we should continue to take seriously building a community that has strong norms around making sure we attract and retain the best possible people from a diversity of approaches and expertise. I worry much more about our failure mode being we inadvertently form an echo chamber and miss or overlook how to weigh the importance or likelihood of potential ways we might be wrong/ potentially doing harm than I worry about overt bad faith.
Absolutely :) Sky Mayhew <sky@centreforeffectivealtruism.org> and <media@centreforeffectivealtruism.org>. Sky is incredibly kind and has always given me brilliant feedback when I've had to do external-facing stuff before (which I find intensely nerve-wracking and have to do quite a lot of ). I can't speak more highly of their help. The people who have given me feedback on my sharing your video have mainly done so in the form of WOW face reactions on Slack FWIW- I'll let you know if I get anything else. My husband also loves this type of stuff and was psyched to watch your video too. :)
Hey- Don't be sad. It's really brave to do work like this and make it public - thank you :) I'd definitely recommend this to newcomers (Indeed, I just did! Edited to add: The animations are so cool here!). You might consider sending future drafts through to CEA's press team- they have a large network of people and I have always found the quality of their feedback to be really high and helpful! Thanks again for this!
This is so funny and great :) The banana thing made me laugh a ton. I love it!