I hadn’t seen that poll until now. I think it’s totally consistent with Eliezer being a good figurehead for his beliefs? Eliezer is arguing for a surprising and alarming conclusion so 45% taking him seriously just seems like a good achievement.
In general I expect that it’s just going to be hard to convince people, so I don’t think that because everyone isn’t convinced, that means that Eliezer is doing a bad job.
The poll wasn’t about “Do you Agree with Yudkowsky on AI Safety”, it was about whether or not one should take him seriously. Personally, if I think someone’s argument is very bad, I still might think they are worth taking seriously due to their credibility, and assume others believe the same (For instance, I take William Lane Craig decently seriously even if I disagree with his arguments for god). Thus, I still think this poll is the best evidence we have for whether or not Eliezer Yudkowsky is persuasive to a general audience.
How do you explain the results in the Reddit poll I linked to from r/SamHarris then?
I hadn’t seen that poll until now. I think it’s totally consistent with Eliezer being a good figurehead for his beliefs? Eliezer is arguing for a surprising and alarming conclusion so 45% taking him seriously just seems like a good achievement.
In general I expect that it’s just going to be hard to convince people, so I don’t think that because everyone isn’t convinced, that means that Eliezer is doing a bad job.
The poll wasn’t about “Do you Agree with Yudkowsky on AI Safety”, it was about whether or not one should take him seriously. Personally, if I think someone’s argument is very bad, I still might think they are worth taking seriously due to their credibility, and assume others believe the same (For instance, I take William Lane Craig decently seriously even if I disagree with his arguments for god). Thus, I still think this poll is the best evidence we have for whether or not Eliezer Yudkowsky is persuasive to a general audience.