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Why does Eliezer make abrasive public comments? — LessWrong

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I don't want to ruffle any feathers, but this has been bugging me for a while and has now become relevant to a decision since MIRI is fundraising and is focused on communication instead of research. I love Eliezer's writing - the insight, the wit, the subversion. Over the years though, I've seen many comments from him that I found off-putting. Some of them, I've since decided, are probably net positive and I just happen to be in a subgroup that they don't work for (for example, I found Dying with Dignity discouraging, but saw enough comments that it had been helpful for people that I've changed my mind to think it was a net positive). However, other comments are really difficult for me to rationalize. I just saw one recently on the EA forum to the effect that EAs who shortened their timelines only after chatGPT had the intelligence of a houseplant. I don't have any model of social dynamics by which making that statement publicly is plausibly +EV. When I see these public dunks/brag

x Why does Eliezer make abrasive public comments? — LessWrong Public Discourse AI Community Personal Blog 98 [ Question ] Why does Eliezer make abrasive public comments? by k64 22nd Dec 2025 2 min read A 11 65 98 I don't want to ruffle any feathers, but this has been bugging me for a while and has now become relevant to a decision since MIRI is fundraising and is focused on communication instead of research. I love Eliezer's writing - the insight, the wit, the subversion. Over the years though, I've seen many comments from him that I found off-putting. Some of them, I've since decided, are pro

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