rationalism

EA Safety

An essay by Venkatesh Rao (Contraptions newsletter) arguing that the Effective Altruism movement\u2019s framing of AI safety has become a problem in itself: \u201cEA promises to solve AI Safety. Now we have two problems.\u201d Rao draws on nearly two decades of writing alongside the rationalist community, and frames the piece as personal history as well as argument. Rao\u2019s Contraptions newsletter (formerly Ribbonfarm) was tagged \u201cpostrationalist\u201d by Scott Alexander.

Is Rationalism a Religion?

An essay by SE Gyges examining whether the online rationalist community around AI risk behaves like a religious movement.

Why I recommend it: A critic's personal essay. Read alongside the rationalists' own writing on LessWrong so you hear both sides.