Working on pause or slowing down AI won't get you money or prestige, so it selects for people who genuinely care

I am so in love with the energy of the Pause AI movement.

​They're like effective altruism in the early days before it got bureaucratized and attracted people who wanted something safe and prestigious.

When you go on their discord you have this deep sense that they are taking the problem seriously and this is not a career move for them.

This is real.

This is important.

And you can really feel that when you’re around them.

Because it has the selection effect of if you join you will not get prestige.

You will not get money.

You will not get a cushy job.

The reason you join is because you think timelines could be short.

The reason you join is because you know that we need more time.

You join purely because you care.

And it creates an incredible community.

If you want to get more involved with the pause community, they’re doing protests soon in over a dozen cities.

I recommend checking it out

The PauseAI Discord is one of the most active and welcoming I’ve ever encountered.

And you don’t even need to have a PhD in ML from Oxbridge, a character reference from Paul Christiano, and be willing to move to the Bay Area.

Pause needs everybody.