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Hello.
I have been adjacent to but not participating in rationality related websites and topics since at least Middle School age (homeschooled and with internet) and had a strong interest in science and science fiction long before that. Relevant pre-Less Wrong readings probably include old StarDestroyer.Net essays and rounds of New Atheism that I think were age and time appropriate. I am a very long term reader of Scott Alexander and have read at least extensive chunks of the Sequences in the past.
A number of factors are encouraging me to become more active in rationalist spaces right now.
- A bit over six months ago now I engaged in a medical procedure called TMS, or Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, as a treatment after about a decade of clinical depression. The results were shockingly potent, making me feel non-disabled for the first time since I was about 20, and I am now 32. The scale of this change opens up a lot of spare personal energy and time.
- I have a strong interest in creative and essay writing. I read most of the Methods of Rationality and most or all of Scott Alexander's creative fiction. I am a long time roleplayer and participant in web forums. I think this is a solid place to get some grounding as I try to restart my life.
- Um, in the last decade we suddenly got an AI that passed the Turing Test. Dude, that's freaky. The relatively tight overlap between the LLM period of AI public awareness and my own health recovery makes me somewhat more aware of "what the hell, how is this possible and should I be worried about paperclip maximization" train of thought in a way I think a more constant perception of change would not have caused.
I am currently thinking and feeling out ideas for posts to gather my own thoughts and perspective on the rapid progress of AGI and the potential risks and tradeoffs we might be experiencing in the near future. I would be curious about any resources that might be non-obvious for feeling this out and getting feedback or guidance as I start on an essay to try and form a coherent perspective and plan for moving forward.