Also, you talked about your writing workflow with Eliezer Yudkowsky? That's cool.
On a personal note, this drives home how removed I feel from the "ground zero" of AI as someone based in DK. Many of the people you mention feel like distant, almost abstract figures to me from across the pond. Yet there you are, meeting them in person almost casually.
I think that's why it's trickier for me to tackle deeper opinion pieces about AI. My info diet consists mostly of secondary reading and I don't have a good finger on the pulse.
Come to California! It's great except for all the bad parts.
In fairness, I had no idea I would meet these people almost casually, and certainly I had many observations of people being less-than-casual: there were a number of times that I walked past Yudkowsky essentially holding court, surrounded by several attendees/admirers/conversation partners.
I don't consider myself "well-connected" to this space (AI safety/rationalists/EAs), but I suppose you're right in that I'm lucky enough to be able to randomly stumble into a gathering of them without much planning.
Yeah that's kind of my point. It feels like, being in the US, one's chances of mingling with big names in this space are quite a bit higher, even if you don't see yourself as well-connected, etc.
There's very little chance I'd simply stumble into any Big Names in AI here in Copenhagen, and even if some of them do visit, my best hope would be to be an attendee at a conference where they're presenting, etc.
But if I do ever swing by California, I'll give you a shout. You can introduce me to your buddy Eliezer and we can place bets on when Skynet will kill us all. Fun times.
Thanks for this nuanced take.
Also, you talked about your writing workflow with Eliezer Yudkowsky? That's cool.
On a personal note, this drives home how removed I feel from the "ground zero" of AI as someone based in DK. Many of the people you mention feel like distant, almost abstract figures to me from across the pond. Yet there you are, meeting them in person almost casually.
I think that's why it's trickier for me to tackle deeper opinion pieces about AI. My info diet consists mostly of secondary reading and I don't have a good finger on the pulse.
I guess that's where you come in!
Come to California! It's great except for all the bad parts.
In fairness, I had no idea I would meet these people almost casually, and certainly I had many observations of people being less-than-casual: there were a number of times that I walked past Yudkowsky essentially holding court, surrounded by several attendees/admirers/conversation partners.
I don't consider myself "well-connected" to this space (AI safety/rationalists/EAs), but I suppose you're right in that I'm lucky enough to be able to randomly stumble into a gathering of them without much planning.
Yeah that's kind of my point. It feels like, being in the US, one's chances of mingling with big names in this space are quite a bit higher, even if you don't see yourself as well-connected, etc.
There's very little chance I'd simply stumble into any Big Names in AI here in Copenhagen, and even if some of them do visit, my best hope would be to be an attendee at a conference where they're presenting, etc.
But if I do ever swing by California, I'll give you a shout. You can introduce me to your buddy Eliezer and we can place bets on when Skynet will kill us all. Fun times.