Amanda Askell

Everything, newest first — across every channel. Their profile → · Subscribe

Sources

14 December 2020

Amanda AskellKorrents 14 Dec 2020

From one piece In AI ethics, "bad" isn't good enough (Amanda Askell's Blog) 2 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
All-things-considered judgments in AI ethics will often require a complex evaluation of many factors.

Their words

Since we can't be certain about any one moral theory and since we have to try to represent a plurality of views, coming to all things considered judgments in AI ethics will often require a fairly complex evaluation of many relevant factors.

askell.blog
korrents.com
Identifying a harm in an AI system does not show that the system should not be deployed.

Their words

So it's a mistake to assume that if we identify a pro tanto harm from an AI system, it must be the case that someone has done something wrong, something needs to be done to correct it, or the system shouldn't be deployed.

askell.blog

1 July 2020

Amanda AskellKorrents 1 Jul 2020

From one piece When robustly tolerable beats precariously optimal (Amanda Askell's Blog) 3 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
A political system that allows a benevolent dictatorship also puts you at much greater risk of a malevolent one.

Their words

A benevolent dictatorship may seem surprisingly alluring in bad times, but any political system that enables a benevolent dictatorship also puts you at much greater risk of a malevolent one.

askell.blog
korrents.com
The property of being robustly tolerable can be undervalued.

Their words

I think we can undervalue the property of being robustly tolerable.

askell.blog
korrents.com
Being robustly tolerable matters most when the expected costs of failure are high.

Their words

Being robustly tolerable is not a particularly valuable trait when the expected costs of failure are low, but it's an extremely valuable trait when the expected costs of failure are high.

askell.blog

15 June 2020

Amanda AskellKorrents 15 Jun 2020

From one piece The optimal rate of failure (Amanda Askell's Blog) 4 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
Insurance against failure for people pursuing ethical careers would enable more of the risks needed to do the most good.

investing

Their words

Investing in individuals or providing insurance against failure for those pursuing ethical careers would enable more people to take the kinds of risks that are necessary to do the most good.

askell.blog
korrents.com
Someone who can afford to be less sensitive to risk is probably either irrational or privileged.

Their words

if you’re able to behave in a way that’s less sensitive to risks, you’re probably either pretty irrational or pretty privileged.

askell.blog
korrents.com
Never failing is a sign of being too risk averse, which is costly.

Their words

if you find you’re never failing, there’s a good chance you’re being too risk averse, and being too risk averse is costly.

askell.blog

+ 1 more

korrents.com
For anything we try, the optimal rate of failure often is not zero.

Their words

For anything we try to do, the optimal rate of failure often isn’t zero: in fact, sometimes it’s very, very far from zero.

askell.blog

What is a korrent?

A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.

Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.

Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.

About the English under a post

Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.

The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.

Only the post's own words are translated. A quoted post, a linked article and a belief on korrents.com are left in their original language.