Many more people are studying science than can actually hope to find jobs in the field.
The real problem is not a scarcity of people, but a scarcity of smart people. The average guy in the street will not improve his own life or anyone else’s by the study of science. Posts for lab technicians are easy enough to fill, after all.
Conversely, the people who really can make a difference by and large do not need any encouragement.
On a practical note, I would be very interested in a discussion of the best ways an individual can make a monetary / political / social contribution to the development of an AGI. Assuming this has already been argued out, does anyone have a link?
I suggest there are 4 stages in the life-cycle of a didact:
(1) The belief that one’s intellectual opponents can be won over by rationality. (2) The belief that one’s intellectual opponents can be won over by rationality and emotional reassurance. (3) The belief that one’s intellectual opponents can be won over without rationality. (4) The belief that one’s intellectual opponents do not need to be won over.
I am not suggesting that any stage is superior to any other.
Eliezer, I declare that you are currently at stage (2), commonly known as the “Dawkins phase”. :)