Excellent post. I have nothing really to add, only that you’re not alone in this:
Here’s a (failure?) mode that I and others are already in, but might be too embarrassed to write about: taking weird career/financial risks, in order to obtain the financial security, to work on alignment full-time [2]. Anyone more risk-averse (good for alignment!) might just… work a normal job for years to save up, or modestly conclude they’re not good enough to work in alignment altogether. If security mindset can be taught at all, this is a shit equilibrium.
Yes, I know EA and the alignment community are both improving at noob-friendliness. I’m glad of this. I’d be more glad if I saw non-academic noob-friendly programs that pay people, with little legible evidence of their abilities, to upskill full-time. IQ or other tests are legal, certainly in a context like this. Work harder on screening for whatever’s unteachable, and teaching what is.
I’m more on the “working on having more energy so I can spend more time learning even with a 9-5” side than taking risks, but same idea.
Excellent post. I have nothing really to add, only that you’re not alone in this:
I’m more on the “working on having more energy so I can spend more time learning even with a 9-5” side than taking risks, but same idea.