I think the “War Mode” framing is useful and aligns with how I’ve tried to describe the changes in my life as I’ve become serious about AI safety. I think the war theme is imperfect since it implies a concrete adversary whom I hate. I think I feel more of the anxiety of “the front is collapsing” and “fog of war”. Every day I take off or go on vacation with my loved ones feels like a trade-off (that I may come to regret). I’m more worried about physical burnout vs mental burnout.
A while ago I looked into experiences of burnout for knowledge workers during actual wars (e.g. spies, code breakers, bletchley park) and mostly came away thinking that I need to look at it properly. IIRC there was a great sense of purpose but also lots of stress (but the stress didn’t have the side-effects we usually see with non-war stress).
I think the “War Mode” framing is useful and aligns with how I’ve tried to describe the changes in my life as I’ve become serious about AI safety. I think the war theme is imperfect since it implies a concrete adversary whom I hate. I think I feel more of the anxiety of “the front is collapsing” and “fog of war”. Every day I take off or go on vacation with my loved ones feels like a trade-off (that I may come to regret). I’m more worried about physical burnout vs mental burnout.
A while ago I looked into experiences of burnout for knowledge workers during actual wars (e.g. spies, code breakers, bletchley park) and mostly came away thinking that I need to look at it properly. IIRC there was a great sense of purpose but also lots of stress (but the stress didn’t have the side-effects we usually see with non-war stress).