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80k podcast episode on sentience in AI systems

EA Organization Updates & Opportunities: March 2023

These monthly posts originated as the "Updates" section of the EA Newsletter. Organizations submit their own updates, which we edit for clarity.
This month, we’re testing out whether it’s more useful to feature opportunities more heavily. Opportunities and job listings that these organizations highlighted (as well as a couple of other impactful jobs and announcements) are at the top of this post. Some have pressing deadlines.
You can see previous updates on the "EA Organization Updates (monthly series)" topic page, or in our repository of past newsletters. Notice that there’s also an “org update” tag, where you can find more news and updates that are not part of this consolidated series.
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Opportunities and jobs Opportunities Job listings 80,000 Hours Anima International Animal Advocacy Careers (AAC) Animal Charity Evaluators Anthropic Centre for Effective Altruism Groups Team Center on Long-Term Risk (CLR) Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) Charity Entrepreneurship Faunalytics GiveDirectly Giving Green Giving What We Can The Humane League Legal Priorities Project Open Philanthropy Rethink Priorities (RP)

Reminding myself just how awful pain can get (plus, an experiment on myself)

Content warning: This post contains references to extreme pain and self-harm, as well as passing references to suicide, needles, and specific forms of suffering (but not detailed descriptions). Please do not repeat any of the experiments I've detailed in this post. Please be kind to yourself, and remember that the best motivation is sustainable motivation.
I began this experiment with three main goals:
I think it is useful to test my intellectual ideas against what it is actually like to experience pain. This is not for motivation - I already work plenty in my role in animal advocacy, and I believe that sustainable motivation is the best motivation (I talk about this more at the end).
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AI Safety - 7 months of discussion in 17 minutes

In August 2022, I started making summaries of the top EA and LW forum posts each week. This post collates together the key trends I’ve seen in AI Safety discussions since then. Note a lot of good work is happening outside what's posted on these forums too! This post doesn't try to cover that work.
If you’d like to keep up on a more regular basis, consider subscribing to the Weekly EA & LW Forum Summaries. And if you’re interested in similar overviews for other fields, check out this post covering 6 months of animal welfare discussion in 6 minutes.
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Progress What AI still fails at Public attention moves toward safety AI Safety Standards Slow down (dangerous) AI Policy US / China Export Restrictions Paths to impact Forecasting Quantitative historical forecasting Narrative forecasting Overall Trends Interpretability Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) AI assistance for alignment Bounded AIs Theoretical Understanding Academics and researchers University groups Career Paths General guidance Should anyone work in capabilities? Against high x-risk from AI Counters to the above arguments

Highlights from last week

We're sharing some posts from the last week, which I shared in the most recent Digest.
The Digest is a weekly email I send to around 8,000 subscribers. You can look at some recent editions or subscribe here.
(This post is (still) an experiment. Let us know what you think!)We recently shared EA organization updates for March, which highlight some relevant opportunities including upcoming conferences, fellowships, and courses.
We recommend:
Opportunities and announcements:
Classic Forum post:
Three intuitions about EA: responsibility, scale, self-improvement (Richard Ngo)
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Does EA get the "best" people? Hypotheses + call for discussion

My mental model of the rationality community (and, thus, some of EA) is "lots of us are mentally weird people, which helps us do unusually good things like increasing our rationality, comprehending big problems, etc., but which also have predictable downsides."
Given this, I'm pessimistic that, in our current setup, we're able to attract the absolute "best and brightest and also most ethical and also most epistemically rigorous people" that exist on Earth.
Ignoring for a moment that it's just hard to find people with all of those qualities combined... what about finding people with actual-top-percentile any of those things?
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Is this quote from SBF aligned with EA?

Here is a quote from SBF from Conversations With Tyler. Emphasis mine for skimmability. https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/sam-bankman-fried/COWEN: Okay, but let’s say there’s a game: 51 percent, you double the Earth out somewhere else; 49 percent, it all disappears. Would you play that game? And would you keep on playing that, double or nothing? BANKMAN-FRIED: With one caveat. Let me give the caveat first, just to be a party pooper, which is, I’m assuming these are noninteracting universes. Is that right? Because to the extent they’re in the same universe, then maybe duplicating doesn’t actually double the value because maybe they would have colonized the other one anyway, eventually. COWEN: But holding all that constant, you’re actually getting two Earths, but you’re risking a 49 percent chance of it all disappearing. BANKMAN-FRIED: Again, I feel compelled to say caveats here, like, “How do you really know that’s what’s happening?” Blah, blah, blah, whatever. But that aside, take the pure hypothetical. COWEN: Then you keep on playing the game. So, what’s the chance we’re left with anything? Don’t I just St. Petersburg paradox you into nonexistence? BANKMAN-FRIED: Well, not necessarily. Maybe you St. Petersburg paradox into an enormously valuable existence. That’s the other option.----1) Is this quote from SBF aligned with EA? ("not particularly aligned or unaligned" is ofc valid response)2) Regardless of your first answer, can you articulate a value system or system of ethics under which the game described by Tyler is moral to play (ad infinitum), but it is not moral to risk 80% of FTX depositor funds with 75% odds of doubling the money and donating all of it to effective charity (once, much less ad infinitum).Bonus question: Did you find SBF's response to this question surprising? Do you think that most leaders in the EA community would have found SBF's response to this question surprising?
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Success without dignity: a nearcasting story of avoiding catastrophe by luck

What happened to the OpenPhil OpenAI board seat?

Wow, have you ever heard of this amazing open-source software called VirtualBox? It's super versatile and allows you to manage virtual machines on your computer. With VirtualBox, you can even run multiple operating systems concurrently on just one host machine! And get this, by using virtual machines, you can even safely test out different software and operating systems without having to install them physically onto your computer.
Now get ready for this mind-blowing feature - you can actually run Android in VirtualBox! That's right, you can test applications, games, and websites within the Android environment without having to have a physical Android device! And it's all happening within a virtual environment.
Okay, so here's the catch - you do need to follow a few steps to set up VirtualBox and install Android into the virtual environment. First things first, you need to install VirtualBox, which can be done by downloading the latest version from the official website. After installation, you're ready to create a new virtual machine!
Creating a new virtual machine is actually pretty simple. Just click the "New" button on the top toolbar and give the virtual machine a name. Choose "Linux" as the operating system type and "Other Linux (64-bit)" as the version. Then proceed to allocate sufficient memory for the virtual machine and select "Create a virtual hard disk now" in the "Hard Disk" step.
Now here's where things get really interesting. By downloading an Android ISO image from the official Android-x86 website and attaching it to the virtual machine in VirtualBox, you can actually install Android within the virtual environment! After selecting the virtual machine you just created and launching it, attach the ISO image to the virtual machine by clicking on "Devices" and then "Optical Drives" and "Choose/Create a Disk Image". Then just navigate to the location where you saved the Android ISO image and press "Open."
Reboot the virtual machine by selecting "Machine" and then "Reset" and the virtual machine will boot from the Android ISO image. Follow the installation prompts and create a partition for Android to install on. Once the Android installation process is complete, reboot the virtual machine again, and voila! You can now run Android within VirtualBox!
So there you have it, folks. VirtualBox is a powerful tool for testing out different environments in a safe manner. Installing Android in VirtualBox is just one of the many cool things you can do with this software. If you want to give it a go, just follow the steps provided in this article and have fun experimenting!

I don’t really know how to describe it but (I can’t even remember how long) I have moments of happiness here and there but the rest of the time I’m either sad, melancholic or just “there”.

I’m trying to install a game on the steam deck but i’m only 6 gigs short on the sd card. I’m wondering if i can add some of the free space on the internal drive to my sd card or make a merged partition. Thanks

Ubuntu, the open-source operating system known for its user-friendly interface and powerful abilities, is the top choice for many users. Installing Ubuntu on a virtual machine has several benefits, such as the ability to test different software or configurations without affecting the primary operating system. VirtualBox is a popular platform for running Ubuntu, and in this article, we will show you how to download Ubuntu for VirtualBox.
The first step is to download and install VirtualBox on your computer, which is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. You can download the latest version of VirtualBox from the official website. Afterward, visit the Ubuntu website and choose the appropriate version of Ubuntu that you wish to download. We suggest the latest long-term support (LTS) version, which is the Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS.
Once you have downloaded the Ubuntu ISO file, begin the setup process by starting VirtualBox and clicking on the "New" button to create a new virtual machine. This will launch the Virtual Machine Wizard, which will guide you through the setup process.
Give a name to your virtual machine on the “Name and Operating System” screen, select “Linux” as the type, and “Ubuntu” as the version. Then choose the amount of RAM you want to assign to your virtual machine on the “Memory size” screen. The recommended memory size for Ubuntu is 2 GB, but you can adjust it to suit your needs.
After selecting “Create a virtual hard disk now” on the “Hard disk” screen, choose “VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image)” as the hard disk file type and “Dynamically allocated” for the storage on the physical hard disk. Choose the location where you want to store the virtual hard disk and set the size, which is recommended to be 20 GB but can be adjusted according to your preferences.
Configure the virtual machine to use the Ubuntu ISO file you downloaded by clicking on the “Settings” button to bring up the settings dialog. Choose “Storage” from the settings dialog and click the “Empty” CD/DVD icon in the IDE controller section. Then, select “Choose Virtual Optical Disk File,” browse to the Ubuntu ISO file, and click “OK” to save and close the settings dialog.
To install Ubuntu, start the virtual machine by clicking on the “Start” button, select your preferred language, and then click on “Install Ubuntu” to follow the on-screen instructions. Choose your installation type, such as “Erase disk and install Ubuntu,” and follow the installation wizard until the installation is complete. Once complete, reboot the virtual machine.
In conclusion, by following the steps listed above, you can quickly install Ubuntu on VirtualBox and experience the many benefits of the Ubuntu operating system. This method is useful for users who want to test software, perform software development, or learn about the Ubuntu operating system. Unleash your creativity with Ubuntu!

I'm trying to go to bed early. Bleh. I've been busy on Steam. I've learned a lot by playing other people's games. Put secrets in your game and make it feel alive are my main takeaways currently. I know what I like isn't what someone else might like but I hate dead worlds and despise beyond all sense of rationale when you can open drawers or whatever and there's nothing in them. XD
Anyway. I can't find my fitbit charger. Ugh. Or my vibrator charger. 😭 I think I'm going to become a vegetarian. I've been reading a lot about my illness and that diet seems to help according to a general consensus.
Also The Body Keeps the Score said some things that really got into my brain in a good way and one is that my body gets tense or reacts before my mind knows why because they're detached and they recommend dancing, martial arts, music, or self defense training to help me learn how to connect the two. I'm debating. Getting SSDI would make this easier because I'd be less worried about money or gas though. I'm not optimistic right now but think I can win with a lawyer. I'm still on 87 percent finished.
Anywaaay- night!

Multi-Omic Technologies: The Next Precision Medicine Revolution

Precision medicine is a rapidly advancing field that tailors medical treatments to individuals based on their unique genetic makeup, lifestyle, and environment. Traditional medical treatments rely on a one-size-fits-all approach, which can lead to ineffective treatments and wasted resources. With precision medicine, treatments are personalized to maximize effectiveness and minimize adverse effects. Multi-omic technologies are at the forefront of this revolution, and they are poised to change the way we think about healthcare.

What are Multi-Omic Technologies?

Multi-omic technologies are a suite of tools that allow scientists to study biological systems at multiple levels simultaneously. These tools include genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and transcriptomics, among others. Genomics is the study of the entire DNA sequence of an organism, while proteomics is the study of all the proteins expressed in an organism. Metabolomics is the study of all the small molecules involved in metabolism, and transcriptomics is the study of all the RNA molecules produced in an organism. By studying all of these levels at once, scientists can gain a more comprehensive understanding of biological systems and develop more precise medical treatments.

How do Multi-Omic Technologies Work?

Multi-omic technologies work by generating large amounts of data from different biological levels, which can then be integrated and analyzed. For example, a genomics study might sequence the entire DNA of a patient, while a proteomics study might identify all the proteins expressed in a tissue sample from the same patient. By comparing these two data sets, scientists can identify which genetic variations are responsible for changes in protein expression, and which proteins are affected by those genetic variations. This integrated analysis can lead to the discovery of new drug targets and the development of more personalized treatments.

What are the Benefits of Multi-Omic Technologies?

Multi-omic technologies offer several benefits over traditional medical approaches. First, they allow for more precise diagnoses, as they can identify genetic variations and protein expression patterns that are associated with specific diseases. Second, they can lead to the development of more targeted treatments that are tailored to the individual patient. Third, they can help identify new drug targets and biomarkers, which can lead to the development of new treatments and diagnostics. Finally, they can improve our understanding of disease mechanisms, which can lead to the development of more effective treatments in the future.

What are the Challenges of Multi-Omic Technologies?

While multi-omic technologies offer many benefits, they also present several challenges. One of the biggest challenges is the sheer amount of data generated by these technologies. Integrating and analyzing this data requires sophisticated computational tools and expertise, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Another challenge is the need to standardize data collection and analysis, as differences in protocols and methods can lead to inconsistent results. Finally, there are ethical and privacy concerns associated with the use of genomic data, as it can reveal sensitive information about individuals and their families.

Conclusion

Multi-omic technologies are the next wave of precision medicine, offering new opportunities for personalized treatments and improved patient outcomes. By studying biological systems at multiple levels simultaneously, these technologies can provide a more comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms and lead to the development of more effective treatments. While challenges remain, the potential benefits are significant, and multi-omic technologies are likely to play a key role in the future of healthcare.
Certainly, I'd be happy to continue the FAQ section of the article. Here are some additional questions that could be addressed:
Q: How can I improve my content writing skills? A: There are many ways to improve your content writing skills. One of the best ways is to read widely and often, both within and outside of your niche or industry. This will help you develop a better understanding of different writing styles, as well as a broader knowledge base that you can draw upon in your own writing. It's also important to practice writing regularly, whether that's by keeping a journal, blogging, or taking on freelance writing assignments. Finally, don't be afraid to seek feedback from others, whether that's from a writing group, a mentor, or a professional editor.
Q: How can I make sure my content is engaging for readers? A: There are a few key strategies you can use to make your content more engaging for readers. First, make sure you're writing for your target audience, and that you understand their needs, interests, and pain points. Use storytelling techniques, such as anecdotes and examples, to illustrate your points and make your content more relatable. Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points to break up your content and make it easier to read. Finally, make sure your writing is clear, concise, and free of errors.
Q: How can I optimize my content for search engines? A: There are a few key strategies you can use to optimize your content for search engines. First, identify your target keywords and incorporate them into your content in a natural way. Use headings, subheadings, and meta descriptions to signal to search engines what your content is about. Make sure your content is high-quality and relevant to your target audience. Finally, build high-quality backlinks to your content from other authoritative websites in your niche or industry.

Hey,
This might be a tad bit long - I'm not sure yet. I need to give a little bit of a backstory, I suppose - so, my mother is half Puerto Rican and she has curly, Spanish hair. However, she was adopted by a white family and I think they didn't really take any time to learn how to treat her hair. She never really knew, nor does she know now, how to do anything more than a ponytail. Growing up, my aunts were the ones that would braid my hair and style it. When we grew distant from my aunts and I was more of a teenager in control with my hair - I just kind of left it as is. Just my hair - but brushed (usually). My oldest sister would sometimes do buns, my middle sister had the fluffiest hair ever and never really knew what to do with it other than a ponytail. Eventually, she shaved it. I am now the only one in my family with long hair - besides my mom, who also just usually leaves her hair as is.
As of now the only thing I feel I can successfully do is ponytails and I've had increasing anxiety and overwhelmingness surrounding doing anything with my hair. My husband is black and only just recently cut off his dreads - so for three years, he had long hair and would style it in different buns and hairstyles. He has tried in the past to suggest me to try buns and whatnot. I would start to try - watch a video or read an article, try a few times and when I wouldn't get it, I would give up. It's like, if I don't get it in less than four shots, it's too overwhelming and I give up. Watching videos, I always feel like I miss some steps, but reading articles always feels like I'm missing something. Sometimes I just feel like some women have some sort of magic that allows them to just get it and style their hair. I feel like I'm missing that and I don't know if it's just because of how I grew up, or if maybe ADHD is involved as well? I know I tend to give up easily and I generally attribute that to ADHD and my lack of patience and inability to accept that I'm not perfect. I like to just "get" things and do things my way. I struggle with reading directions and often just try to do it myself - but then I usually end up with overly spiced food, or a chair that doesn't stay together, or a hair style that looks straight out of a yearbook photo for Wacky Hair Wednesdays.
Today, my husband and I were experimenting with hairclips because it seems like something EASY. We watched a Tiktok over and over again and I tried to replicate and I just...didn't get it successfully and I ended up crying. I don't know. A part of me feels like hair is an essential part of womanhood and I missed out when I was a child because I didn't have many girl friends and once we became distant from my aunt, I had nobody to ask or help me through those steps and it feels deeply embarrassing at 25 to ask my friends for help doing a bun or braiding my hair. So I don't know if it's trauma, ADHD, or OCD or a mix of all - or something. I just feel so...overwhelmed by hair so I procrastinate doing anything and just continue with just brushing it and getting by.
Yet still, every now and then I want to mix it up and surprise my husband. Or just be like other women? And yet I feel like I can't. I just get frustrated, overwhelmed, and upset. So I give up and stop trying.
I just want to know if anyone else struggles similarly? I feel so alone and so silly for being so deeply upset by this.

When do I start an earlier bedtime? My son usually falls asleep between 9:30 and 10:30 and wakes up between 6:30 and 7:30 after starting his bedtime routine between 8:30 and 9:00 (have also tried 7:30) but he always falls asleep between those times. I keep reading that many babies are asleep by 7/7:30 and I want to know if mine is going to bed too late and when and how should I start an earlier bedtime? He has been waking up for 1 or no feeds during the night for a few nights and if formula fed (24 ounces at the most but some days he takes less) and is almost 12 pounds as of Monday.
Edit: He does nap during the day between 4 and 5 times and the length depends on if we are contact napping or not however I don’t really keep track. For example it is currently 6:45 and he has been napping since a little after 4pm (woke up after almost two hours and went back to sleep in dads arms) at 7:12 he will have napped for 3 hours. He naps like this a lot in the evenings then wakes up and then we start the night routine. Maybe his naps are too long or too late? Should be cutting on this evening nap and just putting him to bed? This is my first baby so I’m very confused about sleep, should I just be following his cues and continuing with this late sleep time for now? Part of me wants some time before I go to bed so I can have time to myself and to be with my husband and I don’t want to have to go to bed at the same time my baby does!

I am 16 years old and my height 1.88 m, it has been very difficult to go to the gym for 2 weeks, not only because of going back to school, but also because of the things that rely on me. having friends who started the habit of going to the gym after me and seeing that in such a short time they have progressed more than me has not helped me, on the contrary, it has made me feel that all my efforts have not been useful. I weigh 88kg ( I'm over the weight I should be) and feeling that my routines have become repetitive my motivation has disappeared. The fact of reading a lot doesn't help, it makes me feel that it's better to stay reading than to go to the gym, or also that every time I go to the gym I can get robbed since I'm walking and in my country every corner is dangerous.
I want to feel good with my body, and improve remarkably. I eat well, I rest, I drink a lot of water, but still nothing. If anyone knows how I can recover that motivation that moved my soul and made me feel better every day, please I ask for your help.

Why is Stasis this much of a pain in the ass to fully unlock, at this point I really don’t care about it despite how cool it is to use

Hello, I've been playing Pokemon Go off and on since it came out.
So I do have many Pokemon from 2016 and 2017.
I recently have been trouble with my Pokemon storage and I want to know how do you determine which Pokemon are good to keep and which are good to transfer.
I don't wanna transfer anything that might have a rare move or is an error or unique. I also read that Pokemon from 2016/2017 are special.
Is there a guide anywhere that helps me filter out which are the super rare ones I wanna keep and some which are okay to transfer?
Thank you for all the help.

When i click on recent apps, the screen is getting laggy and I couldn't understand how to solve this problem.
As found in the internet, some people suspected that it was due to the launchers.
Did anyone face the same problem? How to solve this?

Guardian ranks suck, we all know that, progression resetting sucks even more.
How about we have 11 ranks a season but they add to your overall guardian rank.
So if I hit rank 6 this season, next season I start at 6 and then I can grind out to a max of 17. If I had rank 11 then I can go to 22.
Each season gives us 11 new unlocks to add to our permanent score.
There'd be some logistical/planning work to rework the initial 6 ranks.

Just in case anyone was worried, no, I'm not amnesic (is that the right word?), and nobody I know is either, I just had an interesting thought, and wanted to see what some others' thoughts were.
So I was talking with my partner the other day, and I raised an idea, saying, "Do you know how much of a mindfrick it would be to get amnesia from something and completely froget even realising I was trans in the process? Like I wake up in the hospital and I have boobs! And have long hair, and everyone is calling me Aurora instead of [redacted]." And I was just thinking, what if that did happen? If someone forgets before they were even questioning, would they still 'know' instinctually who they were, and know their name but just forget transitioning, or would they forget everything and freak out when they find out they have a beard, flat chest, and a deep voice/boobs, soft skin, long hair, and a vulva instead of a penis. And if so, how would that person react? What if they never get that memory back? How would they cope? Would they still be trans?
Anyone have thoughts, or have any experience with it (I really hope no one does though)