I am just the kind of person you describe. I’ve committed nearly all spare time over the last few years to understanding the core issues of alignment, and the deeper flaws of Moloch/collective action leading to the polycrisis.
What does the next step look like? Social media participation? I don’t think that’s a viable battleground.
There are dozens of AI experts now giving voice to existential dangers. What angle or strategy is not yet being employed by them that we might back?
What are the best causes to throw one’s efforts behind right now? Are there trustworthy companies/non-profits that need volunteers? What is our call to action for those we do inform about the catastrophic risks humanity is facing?
Sorry about the rough formatting and rambling train of thought. I’m eager to commit more of my life to working toward whatever strategy seems most viable, but feel quite lost at the moment.
I don’t have an answer for you, you’ll have to chart your own path. I will say that I agree with your take on social media, it seems very peripheral-route-focused.
If you’re looking to do something practical on AI consider looking into a career counseling organization like 80000 Hours. From what I’ve seen, they fall into some of the traps I mentioned here (seems like they mostly think that trying to change people’s minds isn’t very valuable unless you actively want to become a political lobbyist) but they’re not bad overall for answering these kinds of questions.
Ultimately though, it’s your own life and you alone have to decide your path through it.
I am just the kind of person you describe. I’ve committed nearly all spare time over the last few years to understanding the core issues of alignment, and the deeper flaws of Moloch/collective action leading to the polycrisis.
What does the next step look like? Social media participation? I don’t think that’s a viable battleground.
There are dozens of AI experts now giving voice to existential dangers. What angle or strategy is not yet being employed by them that we might back?
What are the best causes to throw one’s efforts behind right now? Are there trustworthy companies/non-profits that need volunteers? What is our call to action for those we do inform about the catastrophic risks humanity is facing?
Sorry about the rough formatting and rambling train of thought. I’m eager to commit more of my life to working toward whatever strategy seems most viable, but feel quite lost at the moment.
I don’t have an answer for you, you’ll have to chart your own path. I will say that I agree with your take on social media, it seems very peripheral-route-focused.
If you’re looking to do something practical on AI consider looking into a career counseling organization like 80000 Hours. From what I’ve seen, they fall into some of the traps I mentioned here (seems like they mostly think that trying to change people’s minds isn’t very valuable unless you actively want to become a political lobbyist) but they’re not bad overall for answering these kinds of questions.
Ultimately though, it’s your own life and you alone have to decide your path through it.