I specialize in AI, and I respectfully disagree. I think there's much more low-hanging fruit available when studying consciousness. Interpretability research is a thriving subfield best left to PhD students and I don't really think that bloggers add much value here.
I personally am also not concerned about AGI because I think consciousness is quantum.
I'm suspecting more and more that synthetic biology may be an effective career path for insect welfare--producing these compounds from cells as opposed to animals. A proof of concept already exists for carmine: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-30816-9
Not exactly answering your question, but I think EA has really good communication norms--such as steelmanning your opponent, focusing on empiricism, open discussion, double crux, no persona attacks, etc.
I do think the broader society can benefit significantly in discussing thorny topics (i.e. politics) if they adopted these communication norms.
This initiative sounds really cool! You guys are seriously amazing to take up such a difficult task, and major kudos to you.
I've felt that wild animal suffering research agendas tend to focus more on research reports as opposed to lab research. Given that the fundamental goal is to raise the hedonic level of wild animals, my opinion is that research into modifying pain pathways + propagating those modifications is essential. The only person who is doing research in this area is Prof. Kevin Esvelt at MIT, who has written about wild animal suffering and is applying the above techniques to rodents.
Personally, I think it would be valuable to consult with Prof. Esvelt and focus substantially on lab research. I'd appreciate your perspective, if you think I'm missing something.
I specialize in AI, and I respectfully disagree. I think there's much more low-hanging fruit available when studying consciousness. Interpretability research is a thriving subfield best left to PhD students and I don't really think that bloggers add much value here.
I personally am also not concerned about AGI because I think consciousness is quantum.
Good job. Posts like these are why I still check the EA forum despite the ridiculous nonsense (castles et al).
Actually Shiok Meats is working on cultivated meat for shrimp. They're a promising startup.
A very excellent post!!! A huge kudos to you.
I'm suspecting more and more that synthetic biology may be an effective career path for insect welfare--producing these compounds from cells as opposed to animals. A proof of concept already exists for carmine: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-30816-9
Not exactly answering your question, but I think EA has really good communication norms--such as steelmanning your opponent, focusing on empiricism, open discussion, double crux, no persona attacks, etc.
I do think the broader society can benefit significantly in discussing thorny topics (i.e. politics) if they adopted these communication norms.
I'm wondering if there are any updates here?
A plausible next step seems to be quantifying the counterfactual impact that EA could have, and comparing that to other cause areas.
China seems to be doing a lot of secretive research in this domain.
IMHO, I think this is an excellent cause area, and would be interested in brainstorming further steps with like-minded folks.
Hi!
This initiative sounds really cool! You guys are seriously amazing to take up such a difficult task, and major kudos to you.
I've felt that wild animal suffering research agendas tend to focus more on research reports as opposed to lab research. Given that the fundamental goal is to raise the hedonic level of wild animals, my opinion is that research into modifying pain pathways + propagating those modifications is essential. The only person who is doing research in this area is Prof. Kevin Esvelt at MIT, who has written about wild animal suffering and is applying the above techniques to rodents.
Personally, I think it would be valuable to consult with Prof. Esvelt and focus substantially on lab research. I'd appreciate your perspective, if you think I'm missing something.
Thank you!