Ways I’ve changed my mind

• No longer sure AI is risky or bad
  • From: Hacking on LLM stuff, talking to and using LLMs
  • Disbelief of orthogonality thesis; supposition of AI as god
• Disagreements with EA as practiced by OpenPhil & CEA
  • See Nuno’s comments on EA; Leila’s trajectory
  • Manifest vs EAG as a study in taste vs goodhearting
  • Systems vs individuals
• Unclear that donations to eg malaria nets, still matter to me
  • … did I just get status-captured into contrarian donating? Like, malaria isn’t cool now, it’s AI, or if not animals, or maybe weird speculative stuff or progress
• Marginal person represented on the EA Forum doesn’t excite me
  • Evaporative cooling of EA, towards AI risk stuff, or others
• I enjoy philosophy and academia but it’s not how I operate
  • SV “doing stuff” is a better match for my interests

But: is SV technocapitalism better?

• That’s the default framing for Manifold, buni, or something I’d do next
• Post-SV folks like Evan Wallace or Nate Foss
• From def/acc: There’s a lot of cargoculting around raising, getting funding, talking to users
• I like the benefits of choice, but:
  • Jenn on Rich Friend Poor Friend — capitalism reduces the need to rely on each other, which also seems pretty important?

Which status ladders are worth playing?

Ones nearby:

• Silicon Valley — Founders? VCs?
• EA — Holden? Dustin?
• AI — Top researchers?
• Catholic — Jesus? Pope?