How I want to live my life
In short:
I will continue to think very thoroughly and deeply about what it means to do good, and aim to actually do good instead of feel like I am doing good.
Once I identify what the good is, I will try to do a lot of it.
I will aim to act with the eight virtues of benificentrism, responsibility, integrity, scout mindset, industry, empowerment, candor, and love.
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I will continue to think very thoroughly and deeply about what it means to do good.
- What is the good? Overall, I currently think doing the most good ends up looking mostly like utilitarianism, or at least beneficentrism.
- The parts where I disagree with utilitarianism include:
- wanting take into account multiple decision theories rather than just solely maximizing expected value, such as including some degree of risk aversion
- take into account some degree of special obligations, like valuing friends and family more than strangers
- take into account some degree of desert
- take into account some degree of not-immediately-consequentialist reasoning, such as being careful about rights violations and wanting to care about cultivating virtue.
- concede somewhat to the idea that utilitarianism is too demanding
- However, I think despite this, I'd still be far more utilitarian than a typical person.
- For example, I still want to quantify as much as possible and I don't think special obligations are so powerful as to suggest donating to a local food bank is more cost-effective than donating to preventing malaria in Africa.
- The parts where I disagree with utilitarianism include:
- When it comes to thinking through utilitarianism in practice, I think I'm more inclined towards some form of capabilitarianism.
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Once I identify what the good is, I will try to do a lot of it.
- Though I still end up being partial to myself and close others rather than always valuing everyone impartially as an ideal utilitarian, I also use a significant amount of my resources to do good.
- I will try to do enough to put me at least in the 99.9th percentile of people who do good in the world. I think this is a reasonable compromise between the demandingness objection to utiltiarianism and wanting to be very ambitious about my altruistic endeavors.
- This means I will dedicate my career and a lot of my excess wealth (at least 10% of income) towards this goal.
- But I still will aim to live a comfortable life and prioritize my friends, family, and partner.
- I will try to do enough to put me at least in the 99.9th percentile of people who do good in the world. I think this is a reasonable compromise between the demandingness objection to utiltiarianism and wanting to be very ambitious about my altruistic endeavors.
- Once I’ve identified a strategy, building a large coalition of people really magnifies this impact.
- I see a key opportunity and skill of mine as empowering talent
- My current aim is to improve impartial well-being by reducing global catastrophic risk. My current plan to do this is by leading a growing, increasingly well-respected think tank that coordinates action towards reducing risks and securing benefits from advanced AI systems (but I will be open to changing this plan if circumstances merit that).
- Consistent with wanting to cultivate virtue and observe special obligations - I will also aim to have a fulfilling personal life and will aim to be a good friend, good brother, good son, good partner, good colleague, and good boss.
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Some virtues I want to cultivate in order to do the above are...
- Benificentrism – I commit to making pursuit of the good a major project of my life. I commit to using my career and at least 10% of income to do good for the world from an impartial welfare maximizing perspective. I will work on the right problem at the right time and in the right way. When maximizing impartial welfare, I will practice radical empathy and scope sensitivity.
- Industry – I also commit to working hard – harder than most. I will recognize the standard pace is for chumps, so I will work both harder and smarter. I will stand up for ambition and strive for greatness. I will be proactive, be strategic, and have clear goals, identify problems, get at root causes, design a plan, and push through to completion. In doing so, I will identify top priorities and say no to the alternatives and distractions. Additionally, I will work to self-improve, accurately separating what is and is not in my control, will not worry about what's genuinely beyond my control, and then relentlessly improve what I can control and set a high bar for myself. But at the same time, I won't overwork to the point of it being unsustainable - I will follow the work-rest fractal and still make time for high-density fun.
- Scout mindset – I commit to believe what is true and not believe what is not true. I commit to being honest with myself about reality (especially my own weaknesses and shortcomings) and not persisting in self-delusion. I commit to exploring the world with curiosity, not being afraid to change my mind or even pivot my work when it’s best. I will stare into the abyss. When thinking through my own role I will put impact over ego and act with humility. I will be open to taking calculated risks and thrive under uncertainty. I will ensure I am on track through pre-mortems, metrics, and regular reviews.
- Responsibility – I commit to taking full responsibility for the circumstances of my life, and my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing. I will practice self-improvement. I will maintain self-control and practice moderation.
- Integrity – I commit to being honest and reliable in what I do. I will operate with trust, cooperation, and accurate information and follow those rules of good conduct that allow communities (and the people within them) to thrive. I will follow through on commitments and promises I make and avoid making promises I cannot keep. I will aim to not wrong others, and if I do wrong others I will find a way to make it right. I will seek to act so that if a fair critic of my work who had full knowledge of everything I did wrote something public about me, I would feel like I could stand by all my actions.
- People malign consequentialists/utilitarians of following "ends justify the means" reasoning into the abyss, but this doesn't actually have the best consequences! I will recognize this, act with integrity, and avoid short-term thinking.
- People malign consequentialists/utilitarians of following "ends justify the means" reasoning into the abyss, but this doesn't actually have the best consequences! I will recognize this, act with integrity, and avoid short-term thinking.
- Candor – I commit to transparency. I commit to ending gossip, talking directly to people with whom I have an issue or concern, and encouraging others to talk directly to people with whom they have an issue or concern. I commit to acting with transparency. If I have a problem, I will speak firmly but empathetically. I will say that which is at least two out of the three from true, kind and necessary. I will face challenges and fears head-on and stand up for what you believe in, even in the face of adversity. I also commit to receiving the feedback and correction of others with empathy, grace, and an eye to self-improvement.
- Empowerment – I commit to seeing all people and circumstances as potential allies and engage in coalition building. I will practice abundance mentality, and I will find middle ground and win-win solutions. I commit to working with people who are aligned with my values to help them flourish and succeed. In doing so, I will strive to create a welcoming, trusting, safe, fair culture that puts people over process and promotes the virtues. I will practice active listening - I will seek first to understand, then to be understood. I will hold everyone accountable including myself, and invite others to do so, but I will also be solutions-oriented and supportive. I will also identify and celebrate success and see wins as shared accomplishments.
- Love – I commit to love. I will live in appreciation, gratitude, and wonder for all that life has given me. I commit to living with love for those around me. I commit to maintaining a positive outlook and I will work towards my goals with optimism and resilience.
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But lastly, I commit to seeing these virtues as tools that point me towards doing the most good and I will commit to not losing sight of the bigger picture. I will update these virtues as I learn more about how to do the most good. (In fact, this page was last updated 2024 Oct 6 and is at v2.1.)
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In addition the links within this document, this work is also inspired by (in no particular order) "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey; "15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership" by Dethmer, Chapman, and Klemp; the Netflix Culture Guide; the "12 Virtues of Rationality" by Eliezer Yudkowsky; "How to Work Hard" by Paul Graham; the 80K culture guide; CEA values; the Heilmeier Catechism; and "How to Be Successful" by Sam Altman.