Thanks for this thoughtful reply. I’ll outline my position briefly.
The biological research example is not analogous because in biology, the necessary institutions and infrastructure already exist. In the field of effective world improvement this isn’t the case. (If you convince me that current large charities and aid organizations are near-optimal then I’ll update accordingly).
My “most of humanity” comment was misleading and I apologize for this. I merely meant that I would be seeking to reach a lot of people outside the LW & “transhumanist” communities, as I may need to reach beyond these communities in order to find people with the right skills, goals, passions, etc. An organization with a purely transhumanist focus might seem off-putting.to such outsiders.
The payoff of creating a very influential cultural institution would be very great and so could be seen as worth the low probability of success.
[EDIT: I’m not sure I can provide a meaningful answer to your question. My current plan is essentially “a bit of the conventional stuff, a bit of the transhuman stuff” and I’m prepared to drop either strand if it turns out not to be useful. That’s all.]
Thanks for this thoughtful reply. I’ll outline my position briefly.
The biological research example is not analogous because in biology, the necessary institutions and infrastructure already exist. In the field of effective world improvement this isn’t the case. (If you convince me that current large charities and aid organizations are near-optimal then I’ll update accordingly).
My “most of humanity” comment was misleading and I apologize for this. I merely meant that I would be seeking to reach a lot of people outside the LW & “transhumanist” communities, as I may need to reach beyond these communities in order to find people with the right skills, goals, passions, etc. An organization with a purely transhumanist focus might seem off-putting.to such outsiders.
The payoff of creating a very influential cultural institution would be very great and so could be seen as worth the low probability of success.
[EDIT: I’m not sure I can provide a meaningful answer to your question. My current plan is essentially “a bit of the conventional stuff, a bit of the transhuman stuff” and I’m prepared to drop either strand if it turns out not to be useful. That’s all.]