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How do LLMs generalize when we do training that is intuitively compatible with two off-distribution behaviors? " Less Wrong
2+ hour, 30+ min ago (1731+ words) Thanks to Eric Gan and Aghyad Deeb for feedback on a draft of this post. When is a "deceptively aligned" policy capable of surviving training? Answers to this question could be useful for a number of reasons: maybe they'd tell…...
A lesson in courage from science camp " Less Wrong
2+ hour, 38+ min ago (922+ words) The summer before my freshman year of high school, I attended a science-themed summer camp at the University of Florida. It was a cool week! I stood on top of a nuclear reactor. I accidentally sabotaged a lesson on overfishing…...
Pivotal Research Fellowship applications are open (deadline May 3) " Less Wrong
6+ hour, 16+ min ago (452+ words) AI may be the most consequential technology humanity builds, and whether it goes well depends in large part on how many talented people are working seriously on making it go well. The'Pivotal Research Fellowship (a 9-week in-person research program in…...
The "Budgeting" Skill Has The Most Betweenness Centrality (Probably) " Less Wrong
13+ hour, 54+ min ago (1825+ words) Suppose we took a snapshot of each person in the US, and made a list of their "skills", as one might do with a D&D character. I would like to report on what I expect would happen if this…...
There are only four skills: design, technical, management and physical " Less Wrong
1+ day, 15+ hour ago (1107+ words) Lightcone[1] operates on a "generalist" philosophy. Most of our full-time staff have the title "generalist", and in any given year they work on a wide variety of tasks " from software development on the Less Wrong codebase to fixing an overflowing…...
Book Review: The Unwritten Laws of Engineering " Less Wrong
1+ day, 22+ hour ago (231+ words) There's a genre of book that's perennially popular. Some examples include: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People How to Win Friends and Influence People I'm Ok, You're Ok What these books have in common, aside from being self-help, is that they're…...
If It's Worth Arguing, It's Worth Arguing With Whiteboards " Less Wrong
2+ day, 13+ hour ago (261+ words) It's easy to disagree with people. You just say, "That's wrong" and decline to elaborate. But that's not very interesting. If you want to be making progress " instead of ragebaiting " it usually helps to find a way for your disagreement…...
What is the Iliad Intensive? " Less Wrong
5+ day, 39+ min ago (410+ words) Almost two months ago, Iliad announced the Iliad Intensive and Iliad Fellowship. Fellowships are a well-understood unit, but what is an intensive? This post explains this in more detail! Comparison. The Iliad Intensive has similarities to ARENA, but focuses more…...
Applications open for the Online wing of the AFFINE Superintelligence Alignment Seminar " Less Wrong
5+ day, 3+ hour ago (250+ words) We had an influx of applications for the in-person AFFINE Superintelligence Alignment Seminar so we've decided to open it up to remote applicants to join online, from anywhere. The main purpose of the Seminar is to give promising newcomers to…...
In Defense of Passive Review " Less Wrong
5+ day, 9+ hour ago (551+ words) An unfortunate trait on TPo T is intellectual snobbery. "Read what's Lindy," they might sniff. "I don't read anything published post-WW2." Examples abound: Read papers, not pop science. Scroll Tech Twitter, not Tik Tok. One subtle form of snobbery has…...