Thanks for writing this. I got recruited into this world when I was in college and came away needing therapy and with similar concerns about the culture, but without writing like this being published yet I felt deeply conflicted and bought into their narrative that I was selfish for leaving
I've met a third of the people mentioned and everything discussed matches my experience and understanding fully. There's one extra cult I'd add: MAPLE (monasticacademy.org - spiritual cult that think they're saving the world, recruits actively off LessWrong, public abuse allegations)
I remember discussions about bombing datacenters, one upping each others' p(doom)s and seeing a high status man grope a young woman with no repercussions in a CFAR space, among other things.
It's sad because making AI safe is very important, but instead of focusing on real risks they're focusing on science fiction, and traumatizing and gaslighting people.
I appreciate you speaking up about your experiences and sharing this information.
I'm in touch with several whistleblowers and gathering firsthand accounts.
It takes courage, and your voice, any voice, is important here, to better understand what went wrong and how to fix it for others who may experience the same thing.
I would love to chat with you. My email is nirit@techlashbook.com and Signal: DrTechlash.16.
“[W]e are the select few, who are so intelligent that we could save the world through our superpowered reasoning.”
Aeschylus would have recognized this as hubris 2500 years ago.
Thank you, well researched.
Thanks for writing this. I got recruited into this world when I was in college and came away needing therapy and with similar concerns about the culture, but without writing like this being published yet I felt deeply conflicted and bought into their narrative that I was selfish for leaving
I've met a third of the people mentioned and everything discussed matches my experience and understanding fully. There's one extra cult I'd add: MAPLE (monasticacademy.org - spiritual cult that think they're saving the world, recruits actively off LessWrong, public abuse allegations)
I remember discussions about bombing datacenters, one upping each others' p(doom)s and seeing a high status man grope a young woman with no repercussions in a CFAR space, among other things.
It's sad because making AI safe is very important, but instead of focusing on real risks they're focusing on science fiction, and traumatizing and gaslighting people.
I appreciate you speaking up about your experiences and sharing this information.
I'm in touch with several whistleblowers and gathering firsthand accounts.
It takes courage, and your voice, any voice, is important here, to better understand what went wrong and how to fix it for others who may experience the same thing.
I would love to chat with you. My email is nirit@techlashbook.com and Signal: DrTechlash.16.
Thank you.
Online seems to be a lot less toxic than meatspace.