Another great opinion piece on AI an the lure of #TESCREAL #transhumanism #effectiveAltruism: as religion.

“When we put all these ideas together and boil them down, we get this basic proposition:

1. We may not have much time until life as we know it is over.
2. So we need to place a bet on something that can save us.
3. Since the stakes are so high, we should ante up and go all in on our bet.

Any student of religion will immediately recognize this for what it is: apocalyptic logic.”

“Silicon Valley’s vision for AI? It’s religion, repackaged.”

https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23779413/silicon-valleys-ai-religion-transhumanism-longtermism-ea

‘Before It’s Too Late, Buddy’

This is what happens when you spend two years unmasking a well-funded Silicon Valley “apocalypse cult.”

by @xriskology

"This scenario is eerily similar to what Yudkowsky is advocating: military actions that could cause a genocidal nuclear catastrophe, if necessary to keep the techno-utopian dream alive."

#TESCREAL #Longtermism #EA #EffectiveAltruism #Yudkowsky #AGI #AGIPanic #ExistentialRisk #Bostrom #Häggström #Musk #SiliconValley

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/before-its-too-late-buddy/

When writing my #solarpunk essay to the Polish ZNAK magazine I was asked to write a section outlining the differences between the movement and #longtermism (together with #effectiveAltruism, #transhumanism and more).

I think it's important to understand what #TESCREAL (a term coined by Timnit Gebru) is and how it might be one of the dominating narratives on our future in the coming years.

A good intro could be https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-acronym-behind-our-wildest-ai-dreams-and-nightmares/ , although I'm sure there are a lot more articles.

Now listening to: Bizarre and Dangerous Utopian Ideology Has Quietly Taken Hold of Tech World

“It’s really important for people to understand what this bundle of ideologies is, because it’s become so hugely influential, and is shaping our world right now, and will continue to shape it for the foreseeable future,” says philosopher and historian Émile P. Torres. In this episode of “Movement Memos,” host Kelly Hayes and Torres discuss what activists should know about longtermism and TESCREAL." @MsKellyMHayes speaking with @xriskology

#longtermism #EffectiveAltruism #AI #TESCREAL #ChatGPT #Podcast #transhumanism #AGI #WhiteSupremacy #Eugenics

https://truthout.org/audio/bizarre-and-dangerous-utopian-ideology-has-quietly-taken-hold-of-tech-world/

Now listening to: Bizarre and Dangerous Utopian Ideology Has Quietly Taken Hold of Tech World

“It’s really important for people to understand what this bundle of ideologies is, because it’s become so hugely influential, and is shaping our world right now, and will continue to shape it for the foreseeable future,” says philosopher and historian Émile P. Torres. In this episode of “Movement Memos,” host Kelly Hayes and Torres discuss what activists should know about longtermism and TESCREAL." @MsKellyMHayes speaking with @xriskology

#longtermism #EffectiveAltruism #AI #TESCREAL #ChatGPT #Podcast

https://truthout.org/audio/bizarre-and-dangerous-utopian-ideology-has-quietly-taken-hold-of-tech-world/

Who DIDN'T know that #Longtermism and #effectivealtruism were treading the well worn path blazed by #WhiteSupremacy but doing it in Keens and Merrells rather than jackpots? Like Blacks and Jews peeped that shit from miles away.

@davidgerard and Amy Castor report on the developments of the FTX opera buffa, including hundreds of millions flying all over the place, the effective altruists' plans to let 99.999999% of humanity altruistically die while they are altruistically holed up in their bunker, and a lot more: https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/2023/07/30/john-jay-ray-sues-ftx-inner-circle-for-1-billion-prosecutors-want-sam-bankman-frieds-bail-revoked/

#FTX #Crypto #EffectiveAltruism #Nauru #Corruption

remember when #effectivealtruism was like, the boy-in-pond thought experiment and how all human lives are equally & essentially infinitely valuable, and now it's some wild shit about how lives of people in developed countries have more value because they're better able to bring about a future with trillions of simulated consciousnesses

#effectivealtruism is one hell of a drug https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/21/ftx-lobbyist-tried-to-buy-island-nauru-create-superspecies-lawsuit.html

Endgame for #EffectiveAltruism revealed: Retreat to a small sovereign island nation while the rest of the world burns.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/21/sam-bankman-fried-nauru-bunker-ftx

#SBF #FTX

Some charities are much more cost-effective than other charities, which means that they can save many more lives with the same amount of money. Yet most donations do not go to the most effective charities.

This study (from, among others, @SpencrGreenberg) found that participants donated more to the most effective charity, and less to an average charity, when informed about this large difference in cost-effectiveness.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/judgment-and-decision-making/article/donors-vastly-underestimate-differences-in-charities-effectiveness/B7455AC3708440D10454BA2FD6B3F332

#EffectiveAltruism

It's a relief to see a company like Anthropic tackling AI safety head-on, and with an eye to the future! #AISafety #AI #EffectiveAltruism #PreventingTheApocalypse #FutureFocused http://www.techmeme.com/230711/p42#a230711p42

Yesterday I donated 10% of my gross earnings of last year (job 1 + job 2 + stock dividends) to #AyudaEfectiva (that’s the #EffectiveAltruism -aligned #charity in my home country of 🇪🇸 #Spain).

As always, I’m very happy to do that. I feel it’s “the least I can do”.

#GivingWatWeCan #pledge #philanthropy

Since I first heard about so-called #EffectiveAltruism it mystified me why how it is not obvious that the premise falls flat on its face even on its own terms. The hedge fund (or whatever) will pay me strictly (waaay) less than I make them in profit. However generous, I will donate strictly less than I earn. My donations would have to create several times as much public goods per $ as the hedge fund profit creates public bads per $, just for my net contribution to break even.

I find it difficult to take seriously any self-reported proponent of #effectivealtruism that isn't vegetarian.

If you want to learn about #MachineLearning and also #AISafety, maybe because you consider working in that field, check out the "ML4Good Camp".

There's one organized by members of the German #EffectiveAltruism community in late August/September: https://germany.ml4good.org/

I just rewatched Beth Barnes's TedX talk about effective charitable giving. She summarizes in a single minute what humanity could all achieve by simply donating 10% of our income to effective causes. It's so inspiring, tears welled up in my eyes, again. If you have 60 seconds to spare, please give this a watch.

https://youtu.be/LtWINl3C_7s?t=166

#EffectiveAltruism #Philantropy

Up to the early 20th century, #psychiatry and western #philosophy were essential assets for building the foundations of modern #fascism.

Now that we have #EffectiveAltruism (yesteryear powered by eugenics and crypto scams, today by eugenics and AGI, tomorrow by eugenics and cockroaches), it’s really time to let go of all that old shit and embrace the future.

#positiveThinking

> Don’t Go Down That AI #Longtermism Rabbit Hole

>> Silicon Valley is fixated on longtermism — prioritizing future lives over those living today. This is very tricky moral math

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-05-19/ai-longtermism-alarmists-are-dragging-us-all-down-existential-rabbit-hole

#opanAI #effectiveAltruism #musk #altman #techBro

Such a great episode and I identified with a lot of things discussed here. I can see this being relevant to those not directly involved in #EffectiveAltruism too. https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/80-000-hours-podcast/id1245002988?i=1000608523408