AI safety funding concentration and the push for broader support

A commentator who describes being involved in AI ethics from 2018 to 2020 recalls efforts to connect AI risk advocates with ethics scholars being met with disdain and accusations of ignoring near-term harms. They also say researcher friends declined or avoided jobs at leading AI labs because they feared contributing to catastrophic risks. The post defends advocates who accepted support from the few receptive funders and organizations, arguing that they had been pleading for a wider funding base.