Note: This post was crossposted from the Coefficient Giving Farm Animal Welfare Research Newsletter by the Forum team, with the author's permission. The author may not see or respond to comments on this post.
Subtitle: On vegan advocacy, effective altruism, and FIFA
I turn 40 today. Here are some hot takes.
On factory farming
1. Our biggest challenge is salience. If factory farming led the evening news, it wouldn’t last lo...
When speaking to candidates who are considering working with us at 80,000 Hours, I often hear people worry about replaceability.
The familiar version of the worry is about whether the organisation will hire someone else in your place. If it will, then the difference you make by taking the job is only the difference between you and them.
There are a couple of well-known answers to that. The person hired in your place probably cares about the world too, and would go on to do somethi...
> TL;DR: No, but you might, if you leave it too late: We’re hiring for seven roles, and the people who join now will shape what a much bigger AIM becomes. The first step is cheap -- an expression of interest form.
My worry
I rejoined...
Political economy and atrocity risk.
EA is neglecting the important middle ground between existential risk and public health: Atrocity risk.
We're now observing governance-automation trends driving governments' increasing apathy toward constituents outside of the govs' minimally-viable winning-coalitions. See "Selectorate Theory". This will continue unless/until we ban thinking machines like the Lansraad in Dune.
Absent such a ban, the atrocity risk from escalating neo-feudal proxy conflicts is legion.
This is a 3/3 on the ITN.