It’s also dangerous to the health of thousands of trial participants. The path from the atrocities of Nuremberg and Tuskegee to today’s robust ethics of medical research has not been easy. In response to these horrific events, a remarkable global consensus emerged, across countries in very different parts of the world and with very different types of governments: Medical researchers, and...
Monday, February 17th
Status of this post: in writing this I prioritised speed over quality. I'm not particularly expert on this topic. I fully expect there to be things I’m missing or have got wrong. This post is more a request for feedback than a statement of a high-conviction claim... . Summary: I think it's moderately likely that action to bolster American democracy may be high impact.
17 February 2025 Pugwash is pleased to present a summary report of the activities and changes that took place during … More...
This is an all-in-one crosspost of a scenario I originally published in three parts on my blog, No Set Gauge. Links to the originals: A History of the Future, 2025-2027. A History of the Future, 2027-2030. A History of the Future, 2030-2040. . Thanks to Luke Drago, Duncan McClements, Theo Horsley, and Bilal Chughtai for comments... .
Direct PDF link for non-subscribers. Information theory must precede probability theory, and not be based on it. By the very essence of this discipline, the foundations of information theory have a finite combinatorial character. - Andrey Kolmogorov. Many alignment researchers borrow intuitions from thermodynamics: entropy relates to information, which relates to learning and epistemology.
The post Ask a career advisor: how mid-career people can help with AI and how to survive a job hunt appeared first on 80,000 Hours.
Hundreds of millions of birds are being roasted and choked to death
David Halperin’s How To Be Gay is an insightful work of queer theory by the only queer theorist who understands how to write a coherent English sentence.
Despite scientific advancements and citizens calling for change, laws in the European Union fall short of providing farmed animals the good welfare they deserve. The post The European Union Is Failing Animals On Industrial Farms appeared first on Faunalytics.
Editors’ Note: John Miles Branch explores the feud between two prominent mid-century libertarian thinkers, Murray Rothbard and Richard Cornuelle, as a way of understanding the contemporary right’s growing antipathy toward nonprofits writ large. On February 6, the White House published a memo entitled “Advancing United States Interests When Funding Nongovernmental Organizations” that directs...
Compared to a more divided government, a more central government has stronger incentives to help the polity as a whole.
The European Commission publishes guidelines on AI system definition, prohibited AI practices and a living repository on AI literacy. Legislative Process
Commission publishes guidelines on AI system definition: The European Commission has published guidelines explaining the definition of AI systems under the AI Act, aiming to help providers and other stakeholders determine whether their...
The hardest thing about seeing a portal is getting others to see it
The European Commission publishes guidelines on AI system definition, prohibited AI practices and a living repository on AI literacy.
How long does it take to transfer to a human customer service agent?
Despite increasing interest in international AI benefit sharing, fundamental questions regarding motivations, mechanisms, and feasibility remain unexplored. In a new GovAI report, we describe three...
Shortly after his inauguration, President Donald Trump took a set of thick, black permanent markers and signed a sweeping set of executive orders that took aim at everything from immigration and gender to TikTok and climate change. One of his first moves was to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United […]...
Improvements in the capabilities of frontier AI systems present policymakers with a classic challenge: how to preserve the benefits of innovation while mitigating attendant risks. Certain...
What CodeForces rankings reveal about AI capabilities
Air pollution tends to get worse before it gets better, but how can we accelerate this transition?
On March 14th, 2015, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality made its final post. Wrap parties were held all across the world to read the ending and talk about the story, in some cases sparking groups that would continue to meet for years. It’s been ten years, and think that's a good reason for a round of parties.
Sunday, February 16th
this week in security — february 16 edition
CISA layoffs, Patch Tuesday fixes zero-days, Phobos ransomware gang arrested, and more. ~this week in security~. a cybersecurity newsletter by @zackwhittaker
volume 8, issue 7
View this email in your browser | RSS
~ ~
THIS WEEK, TL;DR. Bruce Schneier: 'DOGE is hacking America'; as CISA hit by layoffs
Foreign Policy:
Meeting families' needs with less financial and logistical burden. The post Toward simpler funerals appeared first on Otherwise.
I recently tweeted on the ineffectiveness of Medicine, and thus on waste we could cut.
Microplastics have been in the news and the local rationalist discord with increasing frequency over the past few months. Of note are Nat Friedman's PlasticList, and this 2024 preprint demonstrating that some human brains are now 0.5% plastic by weight. There was also an article on black plastic cookware that was quickly retracted .
Why it’s important to fill out this consultation. The UK Government is currently consulting on allowing insects to be fed to chickens and pigs. This is worrying as the government explicitly says changes would “enable investment in the insect protein sector”.
Saturday, February 15th
Theism is the coolest imaginable worldview
“First world problems” are problems that only become salient when your basic physical needs are met.
Also the world's blackest black vs. the world's brightest light - who will win?
⚠️ Découvrez du contenu EXCLUSIF (pas sur la chaîne) ⚠️ ⇒ https://the-flares.com/y/bonus/
⬇️⬇️⬇️ Infos complémentaires : sources, références, liens... ⬇️⬇️⬇️
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14 February 2025 The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is gravely concerned by U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent … More...
This post presents a conjecture formulated at the Alignment Research Center in 2023. Our belief in the conjecture is at least partly load-bearing for our belief in ARC's overall agenda. We haven't directly worked on the conjecture for a while now, but we believe the conjecture is interesting in its own right... .
The Case for Colonialism is a 2017 article by political scientist Bruce Gilley.
How the longevity community and prediction markets answer long-term questions without waiting decades
Hi all. I've been hanging around the rationalist-sphere for many years now, mostly writing about transhumanism, until things started to change in 2016 after my Wikipedia writing habit shifted from writing up cybercrime topics, through to actively debunking the numerous dark web urban legends. After breaking into what I believe to be the most successful ever fake murder for hire website ever...
Friday, February 14th
We are excited to release a short course on AGI safety for students, researchers and professionals interested in this topic. The course offers a concise and accessible introduction to AI alignment, consisting of short recorded talks and exercises (75 minutes total) with an accompanying slide deck and exercise workbook.
We are excited to release a short course on AGI safety for students, researchers and professionals interested in this topic. The course offers a concise and accessible introduction to AI alignment, consisting of short recorded talks and exercises (75 minutes total) with an accompanying slide deck and exercise workbook.
To solve climate change, we need to think big: beyond our individual consumption, we need to affect change at the level of systems.
The LTFF recently switched to doing grant rounds, our first round closes on Saturday (deadline EOD anywhere 2025-Feb-15). I think you should consider submitting a quick application in the next 24 hours. We will likely consider applications submitted over the next few days in this round (unless we are overwhelmed with applications).
Transformer Weekly: AISI rebrands, Elon meddles, and new models are imminent
Addressing the hidden and extreme suffering of animals is a difficult challenge for both our minds and our hearts. The cruelty we witness is heartbreaking, and the complexities surrounding potential solutions can be overwhelming. What is clear, however, is that the sooner we address these issues,... Read more...
The post Allan Dafoe on why technology is unstoppable & how to shape AI development anyway appeared first on 80,000 Hours.
Welcome to the February 14, 2025 Main edition of The Homework, the official newsletter of California YIMBY — legislative updates, news clips, housing research and analysis, and the latest writings from the California YIMBY team. News from Sacramento The deadline…. The post The Homework: February <span class="dewidow">14, 2025</span> appeared first on California YIMBY.
How political realignment and corporate maneuvering are reshaping the future of AI
What helps large carnivores such as lions and wolves survive when they’re moved to new homes? This study takes a closer look at the factors affecting the success of these translocations in the hopes of improving future conservation efforts. The post Improving Large Carnivore Translocations appeared first on Faunalytics.
On February 14th, 2025 the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology announced the UK AI Safety Institute’s transition to the UK AI Security Institute. Read AI Now’s statement on the transition below. AISI’s partnership with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the Ministry of Defence’s science and technology organisation, heralds the UK government turning […].
It’s been a busy week for Elon Musk. He says he’s saving taxpayers billions of dollars (though outlays from the Treasury Department are public and make it pretty clear he hasn’t); he bragged that he fed USAID “into the woodchipper,” an aide on his Department of Government Efficiency was revealed to have said this summer […]...
GAIN's Keeping Food Markets Working (KFMW) Programme: Tanzania Buruguni Market Impact Story
gloireri
Fri, 02/14/2025 - 14:18
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How to explain Effective Altruism to someone who’s never heard of it—and make them interested?. A few months ago, I was given the opportunity to give a TEDx talk about Effective Altruism. As a former community manager of EA Israel, I’ve spent years explaining EA to newcomers, refining how I communicate its principles, and observing the common misconceptions that make it harder for people to...
How to explain Effective Altruism to someone who’s never heard of it—and make them interested?. A few months ago, I was given the opportunity to give a TEDx talk about Effective Altruism. As a former community manager of EA Israel, I’ve spent years explaining EA to newcomers, refining how I communicate its principles, and observing the common misconceptions that make it harder for people to...
TL;DR: During a research stint at AIM the idea of a policy charity advocating for a ban or limitation of fish stocking in Canada was evaluated. Fish stocking is the practice of releasing cultured fish into natural water bodies to maintain or enhance fish populations.
Project Assistant, Workforce Nutrition
admin_inox
Fri, 02/14/2025 - 11:30
vacancy_id
SYS-1265
location
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Contract type
Fixed Term
Duration
24 Months
Frontend apply URL
https://jobs.gainhealth.org/vacancies/1265/apply/
Closing date
Sat, 02/22/2025 - 12:00
Department
Programmes
about_the_role
<p>The Global Alliance for...
Senior Programme Assistant, Policy and Food Systems
admin_inox
Fri, 02/14/2025 - 11:30
vacancy_id
SYS-1264
location
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Contract type
Fixed Term
Duration
24 Months
Frontend apply URL
https://jobs.gainhealth.org/vacancies/1264/apply/
Closing date
Sat, 02/22/2025 - 12:00
Department
Advocacy, policy and external relations...
Introduction. It's now well known that simple neural network models often "grok" algorithmic tasks. That is, when trained for many epochs on a subset of the full input space, the model quickly attains perfect train accuracy and then, much later, near-perfect test accuracy.
Ann Pace joins the podcast to discuss the work of Wise Ancestors. We explore how biobanking could help humanity recover from global catastrophes, how to conduct decentralized science, and how to collaborate with local communities on conservation efforts. You can learn more about Ann's work here:
https://www.wiseancestors.org
Timestamps:
00:00 What is Wise Ancestors?
Egypt’s new Hub of Advanced Policy Innovation for the Environment launches to improve clean air and water access
The lab will partner with local policymakers and researchers to generate evidence-based solutions to improve climate policies and programs in Egypt.
nwael
Fri, 02/14/2025 - 04:13...
[Thanks to Steven Byrnes for feedback and the idea for section §3.1. Also thanks to Justis from the LW feedback team.]. Remember this?. . Or this?. . . The images are from WaitButWhy, but the idea was voiced by many prominent alignment people, including Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nick Bostrom.
Discuss...
The last several years have seen a rapid increase in the capability of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Over the coming decades, there are likely to be even more significant advances in this technology. This could drastically change society—both for the better and for the worse. This path profile will cover... Read more...
Introduction. I have long felt confused about the question of whether brain-like AGI would be likely to scheme, given behaviorist rewards. …Pause to explain jargon: “Brain-like AGI” means Artificial General Intelligence—AI that does impressive things like inventing technologies and executing complex projects—that works via similar algorithmic techniques that the human brain uses to do those...
Over the past three decades, most new homes in California have been built in or near the wildland-urban interface (WUI). As catastrophic fires in the WUI grow worse with climate change, effective fire-risk reduction strategies are essential. In Land Use….
Housing costs are a contentious political issue in most American cities. Demands for building more “affordable housing” run up against a variety of politically-powerful stakeholders, who are ambivalent (at best) about neighborhood change; many constituents are fiercely opposed to even….
Introduction to an essay series about paths to safe, useful superintelligence.
I wrote this to try to explain the key thing going on with AI right now to a broader audience. Feedback welcome. Most people think of AI as a pattern-matching chatbot – good at writing emails, terrible at real thinking. They've missed something huge.
(Audio version here (read by the author), or search for "Joe Carlsmith Audio" on your podcast app.). We want the benefits that superintelligent AI agents could create. And some people are trying hard to build such agents. I expect efforts like this to succeed – and maybe, very soon. But superintelligent AI agents might also be difficult to control.
There's a common thread that runs through a lot of odd human behavior that I've recognized: People often accept surface explanations of their own and others' habits when the nefarious explanations would say something bad about them.
Epistemic status: You probably already know if you want to read this kind of post, but in case you have not decided: my impression is that people are acting very confused about what we can conclude about scaling LLMs from the evidence, and I believe my mental model cuts through a lot of this confusion - I have tried to rebut what I believe to be misconceptions in a scattershot way, but will...
Introduction: some contemporary AI governance context. It’s a confusing time in AI governance. Several countries’ governments recently changed hands. DeepSeek and other technical developments have called into question certain assumptions about the strategic landscape.
Introduction. I have long felt confused about the question of whether brain-like AGI would be likely to scheme, given behaviorist rewards. …Pause to explain jargon: “Brain-like AGI” means Artificial General Intelligence—AI that does impressive things like inventing technologies and executing complex projects—that works via similar algorithmic techniques that the human brain uses to do those...
There are three main ways to try to understand and reason about powerful future AGI agents: Using formal models designed to predict the behavior of powerful general agents, such as expected utility maximization and variants thereof (explored in game theory and decision theory).
France wants to race, but isn't looking at the road ahead
Also: to avoid it? Handle it? Solve it forever? Solve it completely?.
Also: to avoid it? Handle it? Solve it forever? Solve it completely? Text version here: https://joecarlsmith.substack.com/p/what-is-it-to-solve-the-alignment
Sorry it looks like the website version of this post is messed up for some reason.
So far I’ve watched 34 episodes of Couples Therapy, wherein Dr.
Thursday, February 13th
Introduction to a series of essays about paths to safe and useful superintelligence. Text version here: https://joecarlsmith.substack.com/p/how-do-we-solve-the-alignment-problem...
What must be considered to build a safe but effective future for AI in education, and for children to be safe online?
Racism against shrimp has gone on for long enough!! !
A survey reveals cultural differences between India and the U.S. in how free-roaming animals are perceived and what kinds of interventions might be supported by the public. The post Cultural Differences Impact Perceptions Of Free-Roaming Animals appeared first on Faunalytics.
Governments should still be able to keep track of who's training frontier models — though a shift to reinforcement learning could make that harder...
As the only organisation looking to apply wellbeing science to improve happiness globally, we’ve been analysing the recent announcement of USAID funding withdrawal to understand what it means for donors […]. The post Happier Lives Institute Responds to Trump Administration Shutting Down USAID appeared first on Happier Lives Institute.
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