Another thing I think we should focus on if we are on track to solve alignment is concentration of power. Aligned ASI would make this problem more important. 

I wonder if it may be helpful to combine this with a moral parliament tool. Personally, my credence in consequentialism is far lower than 60% (which is the credence used on the linked spreadsheet), and my preferred normative theory is not even considered (Ross’ prima facie duties theory). 

Outside of Little Rock and northwest Arkansas, I doubt you'll find much sympathy for animal welfare. It may be more helpful to frame this as an issue of big industrial farms versus small family farms and states' rights. I suspect more people here would be open to that kind of message instead of the animal welfare message.

As for how to spread that message, I'm not entirely sure. This is kinda my first time doing anything activist-like, so I don't have any experience to draw on. But my guess is trying to find associations of farmers and arguing that the SOB Act would hurt them. Also, I checked the University of Arkansas' extracurricular clubs page and found that there is an Animal Legal Defense Fund group, so maybe they could help some. It looks like there is a vegan group in northwest Arkansas that may also be interested.

Animal Legal Defense Fund: https://hogsync.uark.edu/club_signup?group_type=&search=animal&category_tags=&order=name_asc

Northwest Arkansas Vegan Group: https://www.meetup.com/northwestarkansasvegansgroup/?recSource=chapter-search&recId=7e616018-673f-4f98-9099-d28f0f7fd64f&searchId=1578577e-708f-46dc-a687-94d2dcfd065f&eventOrigin=find_page

Thank you for sharing. I currently live in rural Arkansas, so I plan on calling Senator Boozman's office as soon as I can.

How regularly does everyone use this forum? I'm curious whether people tend to set aside time for browsing the forum, check it on-the-go, or just check the forum digest. I'm also wondering how I should approach the forum (examples: set aside one hour every week to stay up to date on the latest posts, check it when I'm on my phone instead of doomscrolling, just read the weekly digest and see if there are any interesting posts, etc.).

I agree that this is a very important issue right now, but I’m not sure what we can do about it. 

When I first joined the forum early last year, I was also surprised that politics seems neglected in EA circles. Though I still think the current geopolitical situation is an incredibly important issue (perhaps the most important due to how many other issues it affects), I unfortunately don’t think it’s very tractable. Maybe I’m missing something, but I really don’t see anything a niche community can do to improve the complex situation that is the current political climate. I imagine most EAs think the same. 

Another argument against: moral uncertainty

Are there any good online groups for software engineers interested in EA? I joined the EA software engineer discord, but it’s not really active. Looking for an active space where I could get advice. 

For as long as I can remember, I've struggled with the idea that I'm among the wealthiest people in the history of the human race. I have goals and life projects that most people would never even dream of having the opportunity to pursue.  Who am I to have deserved such a privilege among other people? What makes me so special? I'm not special, and the fact that I have all this privilege and wealth fills me with guilt. By donating a portion of my income to charity and contributing to efforts to help make the world a better place, these feelings of guilt are substantially weakened. That's part of the reason why I give - to not feel as guilty.

Another part is that it makes my life more meaningful. By contributing to a cause greater than myself, my life feels purposeful; hopefully the good I do will have positive effects for long after I'm dead.