Ex-OpenAI researcher: I spent 1.5 years unlearning downside protection over upside creation
emilyzsh · x · 2026-11-08
An AI practitioner reflects on the one quality she has actively tried to cast out of herself over the past 1.5 years: a focus on downside protection over upside creation. In her view, prioritizing risk avoidance over chasing opportunities is the most damaging habit for both your self-concept and your ability to actually fulfill your dreams.
More from AGI Musings
- Martin Casado: specialized approaches grow toward generality, not just get eaten by it — timigod · 2026-11-08
- Counter to the 'Nature already does RSI' argument: life's waves suggest humans are fleeting — danfaggella · 2026-11-08
- Reminder of the original slow/fast takeoff definitions from Vinge and Yudkowsky — sebkrier · 2026-11-08
- 'People are ahead of their skis': stalled AI revenue sparks stagnation-over-boom warning — abhiadesai · 2026-11-08
- AI capability growth as a tug of war: recursive self-improvement vs diminishing returns — CFGeek · 2026-11-08
- Chollet: Scaling Is Only a Multiplier, Smarter Methods Scale Better — fchollet · 2026-11-08