All of Olivia Addy's Comments + Replies

That's definitely unexpected, I wonder if maybe when people are questioned about it, they say they're worried about it...but that generally it's not on their mind as a big worry. I could be wrong though.

Thanks for linking these posts, it's useful to see a different perspective to the one I feel gets exposed the most.

Thank you for sharing this! Really great post - answers lots of the questions that I had, thank you.

I hadn't thought of the fact that people may think they have no power so just kind of...don't think about it. I suppose more work needs to be done to show that people can work on it.

These are interesting findings!  Be interesting to see if these kind of results are similar elsewhere. 

This is a really great point and makes sense as to why it's a lot less spoken about than other risks.

Thanks for this comment, it's exactly the type of thing I was looking for. The person who comes to mind for me would be Louis Theroux...although he mainly makes documentaries more on people than on 'things' nonetheless some of his documentaries grapple with issues around ethics or morality. Think it might be a bit of stretch to imagine this actually happening though, but he does meet the criteria I would say.

These are useful points, thank you!

Definitely a fair point!

This is a really useful (and kind of scary) perspective. Thanks for sharing.

Hey thanks for this post. I think this kind of perspective is really important and one I wish I would see more of in the EA community.

As you probably gathered from my post, I felt like the high impact jobs that are promoted feel out of reach to me - and I probably shouldn’t bother getting upset about this as there likely are people who are a better fit than me and would do a better job. I feel as though the idea of finding out on a more personal level how you can make the most impact should be promoted more in EA - I know that is what it’s about at its core, but it does get lost in all the info out there about being an AI alignment researcher or stopping the next pandemic.

Hey thanks for these really concrete steps! I appreciate you highlighting these other parts of the EA community as I really wasn’t aware of them before I posted this.

And that’s a really great point about the conferences - think it’s key to be mindful that people might be trying to portray a certain image.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate this - it can definitely be challening to see good qualities I have sometimes...so thank you for posting this.

Thank you so much for this comment! The points you made about the community needing different types of skills is great and I totally agree...your comment (and lots of others) has definitely helped open my mind up and think a bit more about ways in which I could be useful here...even if it's outside the traditional view I had of what an EA is...so thank you for that!!

Thank you for this comment. It's nice to know that I'm not the only person feeling this way and I totally relate to the feeling of undermining yourself, this is something I am trying to work on too!

Hey no I haven't thought about setting up a group like that but I definitely think it could be a good idea! The original ideas I learnt about right when I got involved are the most exciting to me...I'm sure others feel the same

Some great ideas here, thank you! I've talked to my husband a lot about EA but like you do find it a bit challenging to branch out to others. I think this is something worth me working on though.

Thank you for this comment! It's really great to know I'm not alone with this - and I hope you start to find your way, I know how confusing it can feel to be completely lost. I'd love to connect with you. I will send a DM!

This is definitely a good point. I have had really great experiences with every EA i've met and actually talked too - I guess it's what I see online that I've struggled with.  I could definitely make more of an effort to not get so tied up in the parts which don't work for me.

I think 'finding a way to be useful' is a great way to think about it, and something I'm going to consider going forward!

Thanks! I agree with everything in your comment - and I really hope to see EA change in the future so that more 'average' people are able to contribute (I think we could have a lot to give!!)

Hi Moritz, thank you for this kind comment, it's really made me smile!! I will definitely reach out.

I had no idea this existed but will definitely check it out.

Agree, and I do donate a part of my income - my issue was that I wanted to do more than just donate, I wanted my career to be commited to making the world a better place, and that is where I was getting stuck.

That's really great advice, thank you! I can definitely be a bit hard on myself but recognising that I can still contribute is probably better than getting down about not being an Oxford PhD grad!!

Thank you for this comment and the article recommendation, I will definitely be checking it out. And thank you for highlighting the other ways to get involved, I could definitely do a bit more thinking about the options available to me, as I'm sure I can find my place somewhere!!

If aiming at dumb (I really just used this as a title, I just meant averagely intellingent) people, I don't think using the phrase 'epistemic deference' is ideal :D 

Thank you so much! I so appreciate this comment.

Your talk really is great. This weekend I’m facilitating my first introductory fellowship session and I’ve recommended it to those coming along because I think it’ll be great to inspire and get them interested in EA, like it did for me.

I appreciate you highlighting that most EA’s didn’t go to top level uni’s - I wish this was out there more!

And I think (from reading other comments too) I was definitely getting a bit too wrapped up in not understanding highly complex stuff (when a lot of EA’s don’t either).

I agree there’s a huge need for more sympathetic people and that’s why I think it’s a shame that the community does feel like it has such a high bar to entry. I hope this changes in future.

Thank you for this comment!! The points you make are really great, and I hadn’t considered the importance of other types of intelligence so that’s something for me to think about a bit more.

I agree there needs to be more resources out there, and I hope this is something that changes over time.

I agree, and reading other comments - I think I may have got a bit down on myself (unnecessarily) for not understanding a lot of the stuff on the forum, as that seems to be pretty common. I guess as this is sort of the ‘main place’ (as far as I’m aware) for EA discussion, this contributed to my feelings of not being ‘smart enough’ to fit in.

Thanks for this comment. I really appreciate what you said about just being excited to help others as much as possible, rather than letting insecurities get the better of you.

Interesting that you mentioned the idea of an EA webzine because I have been toying with the idea of creating a blog that shares EA ideas in a way that would be accessible to lots of people. I’m definitely going to put some more thought into that idea.

Hey, I just wanted to say I'm glad you posted this. It made me laugh and I'm glad you've voiced something that's probably pretty common but rarely talked about - I appreciate that.

Thanks so much Michael!

Thank you! It's definitely scary isn't it, but always worth it :)

Hi Howie, thanks so much for sending those resources over! I'll definitely be reading those before my next conference. 

Hi Ollie, it was a great event so your team should be really proud of what you achieved! And that sounds like a great idea.

Hi Tom, thanks for this comment, really useful suggestions! I hadn't considered volunteering but that does sound like it would be a great way to make some quick friends.

Definitely! It's amazing how just half an hour of quiet time can help you feel so refreshed.

That sounds like a great idea! I'd of loved something like that.

Thank you!