Scott Alexander discusses how figure/ground illusions in ideological debates can make balanced representation appear biased, using examples from effective altruism and AI risk. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of figure/ground illusions in ideological debates, particularly in the context of effective altruism and AI risk. He argues that when a previously marginalized view gains equal footing with more mainstream perspectives, it can appear dominant due to this illusion. The post uses examples from effective altruism, the blog's comment section, and Scott's own reputation to illustrate how balanced representation can be misperceived as bias. He suggests that this phenomenon might explain why some people view AI risk as dominating effective altruism, despite evidence to the contrary. Shorter summary