Scott Alexander, curated
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Quests And Requests

Quality
62
Strong
Claude Shift
40
Moderate
RWI
2
of 10

Follow-up reading

Followup: Quests And Requests — Highlights · Nov 2023

Summary

Ahead of a new ACX Grants round, Scott lists 8 projects he'd like someone to take on: replicate the Cambridge alpha-entrainment faster-learning result; build an open-source polygenic educational-attainment predictor (to democratize embryo IQ selection); run John-Green-style corporate pressure campaigns to cut drug prices; test his 15-year-old immersive-novel language-teaching idea (gradually morph English into the target language); an OKCupid-of-IATs generator; a good text-first dating site; a foundation to promote classical architecture; and a primer on how to actually effect political change. A generative grab-bag inviting the community to incubate.

Why this score

Quality 62 · Strong. Strong (low): idea-rich, characteristic, and community-generative, with a couple of genuinely intriguing pitches (the language-immersion novel, the open-source EA predictor); held low-Strong because it is a list of seed pitches, low-density per item, not a developed argument.

Claude’s paradigm shift 40 · Moderate. Moderate (low): these are project seeds rather than a new frame; novelty is in the individual ideas, not a unifying thesis.

Real-world impact 2 · Minor. Minor: ACX Grants does fund real projects, but this post is a call-for-proposals whose own footprint is indirect.