Chris Harmer
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Chris Harmer has not written any posts yet.
Chris Harmer has not written any posts yet.
Ah, thank you. I was unaware.
I've been thinking about the Cummings testimony for a while, considering whether to draw attention to it. I've been (unwisely) seeing all recent UK Gov. activity through that lens.
The UK Government apparently has a small team of PhDs tasked with translating complicated papers and other data for the leadership. This team was assembled by rationalist-adjacent Dominic Cummings, who has since left (essentially the Prime Minister stopped listening to him).
If UK Government policy appears sensible and forward thinking, this team is likely the source. I fear with the removal of their patron they may not last long.
For those curious about what happens when a LessWrong reader gets close to power:
Some people have mentioned Dominic Cummings' role as former advisor to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, describing him as rationalist-adjacent.
He recently gave >7 hours of testimony (available on Youtube, 26 May 2021)... (read more)
Based on what Cummings said, I believe the team survived his departure.
As ChristianKl suggested, I wish I'd made notes when listening to it. I've since thankfully found a transcript of the evidence. My beliefs about the team he assembled are based largely on:
"‘This is possibly the single largest design flaw contributing to the bad Nash equilibrium in which … many governments are stuck. Every individual high-functioning competent person knows they can’t make much difference by being one more face in... (read 425 more words →)