TLDR because I got long-winded: If you ever find yourself planning to commit some morally horrible thing in the name of a good outcome, stop. Those kinds of choices aren't made in the real world, they are a thought exercise (normally a really stupid one too.)

Long version: 

Sorry that you got downvoted hard, keep in mind that knee-jerk reactions are probably pretty strong right now. While the disagrees are justified, the downvotes are probably not (I'm assuming this is a legit question.)

I'm constantly looking to learn more about ethics, philosophy, etc ... (read more)

I appreciate the links, these are exactly what I was looking for!  I'll be browsing through them as I get some time! 

It seems like you're on the "expert-master scale" to my "novice - apprentice" level.  Philosophy ultimately won't ever be much more than a fun hobby of mine, but I've always loved diving into some of the deeper stuff. Would you be open to me reaching out and talking with you as I comb through this and come up with questions? 

I understand you're probably busy, so if you have recommendations for some other resources or places to engage people with ideas like this (even if just to read what they write), I would appreciate those too!

I'm afraid that despite professing to be a utilitarian, I'm far from an expert. If you've got a moment, could you help me poke a little more into a niche section of this?

Is there some overlap between Hare's two-level utilitarian framework and what is being proposed in this article? It doesn't seem like they're arguing directly for a framework, more explaining why and how they chose their virtues. 

I've always found virtue ethics interesting, my first foray into reading philosophy on my own was focused on it, and I wouldn't have really described myself ... (read more)

Not here to weigh in on the pro/anti nuclear arguments.

I just wanted to thank you for posting and engaging with the forum about your thoughts! I think that this style of post is one of the most useful because it leads to a better understanding for all involved. 

I'm sure you've all seen the EA hub post that was put up about a month ago.  But it's worth re-stating that it's hard to find someone specific in EA sometimes. 

I sometimes use the forum when I'm trying to get in contact with people, primarily by searching their name! 

I also filled out the form, so apologies if this is a double entry! 

Cotton Bot 

Economic growth

Problem: In 2021, a mere 30% of the world’s cotton harvest was gathered by machinery. This means
that over 60% of the 2021 worldwide supply of cotton was harvested using the same methods as
American slaves in the 1850’s. A significant amount of the hand harvesting includes forced labor.

Solution: The integration of existing technologies can provide a modular, robust, swarming team of
small-scale, low-cost harvesters. Thoughtful system design will ensure the harvesters are simple to
operate and maintain while still containing leadi... (read more)

I had a similar idea, and I think that a few more things need to be included in the discussion of this. 

There are multiple levels of ideas in EA, and I think that a red team becomes much more valuable when they are engaging with issues that are applicable to the whole of EA. 

I think ideas like the institutional critique of EA, the other heavy tail, and others are often not read and internalized by EAs. I think it is worth having a team that makes arguments like this, then breaks them down and provides methods for avoiding the pitfalls pointed out... (read more)

Led to personal lifestyle changes, bought an air purifier and gave them as gifts to friends and family. 

Glad I'm not the only one who sees it! I'm a low risk style investor, but I've sold everything I have and I'm doing cash covered put spreads, We'll see how it all turns out. 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I don't know if altruistic, truth seeking, and self aware are all necessary requirements though.   It seems very much so to me that we're never going to be able to convince the vast majority of people to have the excited attitude about EA that most of us do now. Maybe the right focus of the "altruism" meme like this should be on spreading the first two, altruistic and truth seeking. 

Self awareness seems almost contrary to the idea of a meme like this, given that it relies on the spreading without too much question... (read more)

I've actually had some experiences with things like this as well. I first got into meditation by having someone hypnotize me, as an example. 

I think that most things like this have a little bit of truth to them, but that because there's so much extra attached to the concepts that it's hard to separate them out. 

To use a personal example, the other day I was wiki diving and I discovered chaos magic (link below.) I proceeded to pretty much immediately make a sigil. I don't believe in chaos magic by any means, I really think this is  just an ap... (read more)

I agree with you whole heartedly! I definitely feel the pressure to narrow down and it's hard to keep my "eye on the prize" so to speak. 

I try to remind myself that I'm here to make "this" better, and it doesn't matter how I do it. So I've been trying to diversify my overall look at the world. 

I like the list of ideas, I hadn't considered doing an internship or research project, it's not something I'm very familiar with, so I'll have to put a little more thought into it! 

I definitely need to sit down and read everything 80K hours has put out... (read more)

 I was one of those kids who was told they were smart and didn't have to do much in high-school. As a result I got hit pretty hard in the face by the requirement of actually trying in college.  Combine this with the fact that I didn't do well away from a support network and you have a pretty bad downward spiral. I eventually recovered, but boy was it a rough couple of years!

Right now I'm looking at either technical work or more general purpose studying: 

The difference between those is a kind of along the Engineering/computer science or Econo... (read more)

I'll throw myself out there!

I've always thought of myself as most likely a Earn to give type person, but I'm looking at starting college in the next year or so and I realized that I'm not a bad  candidate for some really important sounding colleges. (I.E. I imagine Oxford is a long shot, but it's not unimaginable.)

EA seems to be talent constrained in a lot of ways, so if I get into a good college. Should I go direct work? And if so, what degree is most applicable? 

Of note: I'm not turned off by the relative hardness of the degree to earn. So stic... (read more)

Anyone financially strapped? PM me and I'll venmo you cash to cover it! 

Does anyone know how the 25$ credit is rewarded? I.E. is it directly applied to the donation you made or is it credited to the account that makes the donation? 

This does sound like one of those rare cases where a little effort can mean a lot of impact, where would you recommend we focus our time and funds? 

What's limiting you and how can I help? 

I'm a big fan of Crisis text line, though I'm certainly biased because I volunteer there. If you're looking for a list of mental health resources to peruse. Their list of referrals is pretty good.

https://www.crisistextline.org/referrals

You can also text them at 741741 and be connected with someone to text real time, their goal is to get you to someone in under 5 minutes, though they struggle during high traffic hours due to volume.

I'm going to be making a post about them (as a volunteer opportunity) at some point in the future, though work is incredibly demanding right now, so it might be a little while.

Perhaps incentive drift is more accurate, but it certainly seems to rob the individual of their agency. I know I am a collection of the circumstances I was raised in, however, that does not mean that I can pass blame onto those around me when I choose something wrong.

Perhaps the choice between the two words is a difference between Instrumental and Value rationalistic choices. Where a Value rationalist would prefer to use the term Incentive drift because it more accurately describes the reality of this "drift." An Instrumental rationalist would p... (read more)

Thank you both for donating. And I'll add another +1 to the number of people who have donated 1,000. I'm hoping that an update on the status of the hotel comes soon.