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All of Nick Corvino's Comments + Replies

It’s "The EA-Adjacent Forum" now
Nick Corvino1y1
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was there a motive behind the font change? 

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JP Addison
1y
It's important to be responsive to feedback.
I went to the Progress Summit. Here’s What I Learned.
Nick Corvino1y9
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it's hard to put into words, but like there were cocktails and nice background music and all the events transitioned super smoothly. It's like when you watch the Oscars or something and everything seems like it's been rehearsed--that's how this felt. EA conferences, on the other hand, usually seem more hectic and improvisational. 

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MvK
1y
In this case, if I had to choose between A) attending an event with nicer background music + cocktails and B) one that doesn't seem "rehearsed" I'd probably end up choosing the latter...
I went to the Progress Summit. Here’s What I Learned.
Nick Corvino1y9
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Did not hear animal welfare mentioned once, and they had lots of meat options for lunch. That's all I got lol. 

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Neil_Dullaghan
1y
You can read what Jason Crawford had to say on the topic here when  Peter Wildeford  asked: https://twitter.com/peterwildeford/status/1520911804288966656 Peter:  What do progress studies people think about nonhuman animals? Jason : It's not discussed much. There are probably a range of views. Personally, my current position is that we shouldn't be inhumane or needlessly cruel, but that animals aren't on the same moral level as humans Peter: Do you think modern factory farming is inhumane? Jason: I've only read a little bit about it, and what I read was pretty bad. But the topic is controversial enough that I'd want to hear multiple takes (ideally from different sides) before having a real opinion Also mentions that he doesn't see factory farming of animals as  one of the biggest problems/negatives caused by progress.
I went to the Progress Summit. Here’s What I Learned.
Nick Corvino1y8
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You know that's what I thought as well, but I've found the community to be more open to caution than I initially thought. Derek Thompson in particular (the main organizer for the event) harped on safety quite a bit. And if more EAs got involved (assuming they don't get amnesia) I assume they can carry over some of these concerns and shift the culture. 

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Community Builders Spend Too Much Time Community Building
Nick Corvino2y4
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Strong upvote. 

To me, this seems more relevant for more established groups. Perhaps thinking about operational tasks vs skilling up shouldn't be thought of in terms of percentages, but in terms of necessary vs supplemental tasks. I would imagine things like sending emails, doing 1:1s, buying food for events, etc. are necessary for any group to stay alive.  So if you are the only HEA for your uni group, you might have to spend 90% of your time doing these (and tbh I think this would be the right call). But when it comes to things like doing an egr... (read more)

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Nick Corvino's Quick takes
Nick Corvino2y3
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(generally) how much counterfactual suffering  comes buying cage free eggs vs. factory farmed eggs? I couldn't find any straightforward posts/research on the topic, but I'm sure it's somewhere. 

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Max_Daniel
2y
You might be interested in this report by Ajeya Cotra.
Pitching EA to someone who believes certain goods can't be assigned a value
Nick Corvino2y1
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The problem here is that it's still overtly utilitarian, with just a  bit more wiggle room. It still forces people to weigh one thing against the other, which is what I think they might be uncomfortable doing. Buck Shlegeris says' everything is triage' and I think you'd agree with this sentiment. However, I don't think everyone likes to think this way, and I don't want that hiccup to be the reason they don't further investigate EA. 

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brb243
2y
Hmmm ...but is it more so about the presentation of relative power between the one who offers and the one who contemplates EA as a reasonable or not framework? For example, if Buck Shlegeris (or anyone else) offers that he has "the utmost respect in [his] heart" for "dumb" people, if the person was implying that different thinking should be dismissed or ridiculed (to assert dominance by fear as opposed to critical thinking invitation), then regardless of the framework that the offering person would support, the suggestion may be relatively less well accepted among people who seek to cooperate. So, if 'everything is a triage' is meant to (or happens to, in interpretation) allude to the notion of 'an exclusive group of decisionmakers does not have time for the emotional requests of a much larger group, which can be perceived as almost disgusting by persistent appeals' then a utilitarian framework with actually highly significant wiggle room  may be accepted relatively less well than when 'everything is a triage' connotes 'everyone is a decisionmaker; decisions are challenging; we have to take care of our close ones but also others; requests are received well and always welcome but there is only so much one can do, perhaps the best is to inspire and encourage' - for example. So, sure, I think that any framing that shows that the one who pitches EA sincerely cares about the perspective of the other person or people but also is confident that EA is a great option should work. What you are suggesting can work for many people, perhaps a stereotype of older affluent decisionmakers who seek to be seen as righteous and caring for others/their group by almost privileging them. It should be actually brilliant for appealing to such decisionmakers. What I was suggesting can appeal to non-decisionmakers, those who perhaps do not much enjoy Van Gogh because they may prefer to save the gallery entrance fee and time spent there to develop relationships with others - may understand
Pitching EA to someone who believes certain goods can't be assigned a value
Nick Corvino2y1
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I agree, and that is essentially the rationale I employ. I personally think I could put a value on every aspect of my life, therefore subverting the notion that implicit values can't be made explicit. 

However, I think the problem is that for some people your answer will be a non-starter. They might not want to assign the implicit value an explicit value (and therefore your response would shew them away). So what I'm proposing is allowing them keep their implicit values implicit while showing them that you can still be an EA if you accept that other pe... (read more)

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