I’ve not watched this particular interview, but watched a bunch of your other interviews with several people, and tbh it shades a bit too much into the Yudkowsky personality cult direction? Especially this trailer.
I’d appreciated it if you made the show more about the ideas, and less about that one particular person who doesn’t matter except insofar their ideas, and I think Yudkowsky would happily fade into obscurity if his goals were achieved. But mainly the presentation is, ah, “not beating the personality cult allegations”, and leaves me off feeling icky.
I did watch this interview, but not his other videos. It does start with the intro from that trailer. However, I did not see it as reflecting a personality cult. Rather, it seemed to me that it was trying to establish Eliezer’s credibility and authority to speak on the subject for people who don’t know who he is. You have to remember that most people aren’t tracking the politics of the rationality community. They are very used to an introduction that hypes up the guest. Yes, it may have been a bit more hyperbolic than I would like, but given how much podcast/interview guests are hyped on other channels and the extent to which Eliezer really is an expert on the subject, much more so than many book authors that get interviewed, it was necessary to lay it on strong.
I read the transcript above but haven’t watched the trailer. IMO, there’s definitely more fawning throughout (not just the introduction) than is necessary.
Thanks for the feedback. I understand there’s a contingent of people who feel as you do about this, though I suspect small relative to my target audience. Still, IMO, it’s worthwhile to recognize that a ton of brilliant & valuable thinking is localized in one living mind.
I think Yudkowsky would happily fade into obscurity if his goals were achieved.
Even if that’s the case, I wouldn’t want our media landscape and history books to neglect to acknowledge and remember a great thinker.
I’ve now listened to the interview and it’s in the 60th percentile of what I’d’ve expected, that’s nice :-)
I don’t know who exactly your target audience is. I guess having a person as a handle for “this cluster of concepts and models” is useful, but I think in other interviews I got the impression that your guests were sometimes a bit uncomfortable with the level of Yudkowsky-praise.
I found the trailer/intro a bit off-putting too. It didn’t bother me, exactly, but it seemed over the top, and makes me hesitant to share the interview with others.
That said, I think JTM makes a good point above, about the expectations of the general public. I rarely watch talk shows; I don’t know what’s normal. I could understand a tradeoff where the optimal tone for the public also provides ammo for certain kinds of criticism.
I’ve not watched this particular interview, but watched a bunch of your other interviews with several people, and tbh it shades a bit too much into the Yudkowsky personality cult direction? Especially this trailer.
I’d appreciated it if you made the show more about the ideas, and less about that one particular person who doesn’t matter except insofar their ideas, and I think Yudkowsky would happily fade into obscurity if his goals were achieved. But mainly the presentation is, ah, “not beating the personality cult allegations”, and leaves me off feeling icky.
I did watch this interview, but not his other videos. It does start with the intro from that trailer. However, I did not see it as reflecting a personality cult. Rather, it seemed to me that it was trying to establish Eliezer’s credibility and authority to speak on the subject for people who don’t know who he is. You have to remember that most people aren’t tracking the politics of the rationality community. They are very used to an introduction that hypes up the guest. Yes, it may have been a bit more hyperbolic than I would like, but given how much podcast/interview guests are hyped on other channels and the extent to which Eliezer really is an expert on the subject, much more so than many book authors that get interviewed, it was necessary to lay it on strong.
I read the transcript above but haven’t watched the trailer. IMO, there’s definitely more fawning throughout (not just the introduction) than is necessary.
Thanks for the feedback. I understand there’s a contingent of people who feel as you do about this, though I suspect small relative to my target audience. Still, IMO, it’s worthwhile to recognize that a ton of brilliant & valuable thinking is localized in one living mind.
Even if that’s the case, I wouldn’t want our media landscape and history books to neglect to acknowledge and remember a great thinker.
I’ve now listened to the interview and it’s in the 60th percentile of what I’d’ve expected, that’s nice :-)
I don’t know who exactly your target audience is. I guess having a person as a handle for “this cluster of concepts and models” is useful, but I think in other interviews I got the impression that your guests were sometimes a bit uncomfortable with the level of Yudkowsky-praise.
I found the trailer/intro a bit off-putting too. It didn’t bother me, exactly, but it seemed over the top, and makes me hesitant to share the interview with others.
That said, I think JTM makes a good point above, about the expectations of the general public. I rarely watch talk shows; I don’t know what’s normal. I could understand a tradeoff where the optimal tone for the public also provides ammo for certain kinds of criticism.