Effective Altruism News
Effective Altruism News
search
menu
  • The Things You Care About Mostly Don't Matter
    What matters most and why no one cares about them
  • Does Social Support Encourage Or Deter Plant-Based Eating?
    Researchers explore the influence that friends and family have on a person’s ability to change their diet — and stick with it. The post Does Social Support Encourage Or Deter Plant-Based Eating? appeared first on Faunalytics.
  • Mutual Support for Open Science
    If you are reading this, you likely work, or have worked, as a scientific researcher, or as a professional who supports research. If you haven’t, you probably at least care about how scientific scholarship impacts society beyond universities, industry R&D labs, and other venues where research typically takes place.
  • The 2024 Transformer Gift Guide
    The must-buy items for the AI policy people in your life
  • Announcing the Emerging Challenges Fund's 2024 Report
    We have released the 2024 Report for our Emerging Challenges Fund, detailing its latest grants, past grants' outcomes, and strategic direction. Donate to the ECF today.Your contribution would help diversify our funding base and enable rapid support for highly impactful organizations that benefit from broad-based backing.
  • MIRI’s 2024 End-of-Year Update
    Discuss...
  • Sofrimento de animais selvagens: não apenas importante e negligenciado, mas tratável!
    Esta palestra apresenta brevemente o tema do sofrimento dos animais selvagens para aqueles que não estão familiarizados com ele, explicando por que se trata de uma causa importante, mas negligenciada. Em seguida, enfoca por que essa questão é mais manejável do que a maioria das pessoas imagina, destacando como defensores e organizações de proteção animal podem ajudar os animais selvagens a...
  • I got malaria on purpose and so can you
    March 26, 2024, was a weird day for me because it was the only one in my life where I was actively trying to get bitten by mosquitos. I had volunteered to be exposed to malaria as part of a study at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) evaluating MAM-01, an injectable drug meant to […]...
  • Algorithms Are Coming for Democracy—but It’s Not All Bad
    In 2025, AI is poised to change every aspect of democratic politics—but it won’t necessarily be for the worse. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has used AI to translate his speeches for his multilingual electorate in real time, demonstrating how AI can help diverse democracies to be more inclusive.
  • Men are struggling. Here’s how your philanthropy can help.
    Shortly after departing the Gates Foundation in June, Melinda French Gates surprised 12 people with a $20 million grant each. Most of them were doing work focused on helping women and girls’ mental and physical health globally — a cause she has backed for years. But one grant went to Richard Reeves, president of the American […]...
  • Want to help save the most lives possible? Here’s where to give money.
    If you want to help human beings alive right now, there are few better places to give than global health. Diseases that have been largely eradicated in the US still claim hundreds of thousands of lives abroad. In 2018, the most recent year for which there’s data, seven Americans died of malaria; all acquired it […]...
  • Compassion in World Farming is Hiring: EU Policy Officer (FTC)
    Join Us in Shaping a Compassionate Future for Farm Animals. We are seeking a passionate Policy Officer to join our team in Brussels, and play a key role in advancing our mission to create a world where farmed animals are treated with compassion and respect. Compassion in World Farming International is a leading global organisation dedicated to ending factory farming worldwide.
  • Import AI 393: 10B distributed training run; China VS the chip embargo; and moral hazards of AI development
    Are you sure you're doing more than curve fitting?
  • Sightsavers to benefit from Help32’s fundraising Christmas cards
    Help Sightsavers continue its life-changing work by purchasing a pack of cards this festive season.
  • GWWC's 2025 Charity Recommendations
    If you’re looking for vetted, cost-effective options this Giving Tuesday (and throughout 2025) check out the newly updated list of our research team’s top recommendations. We think these are among the best places to donate if you’re looking to maximise the impact of your next dollar – and be confident your money is leading to real impact.
  • Suggestions for Individual Donors from Open Philanthropy Staff – 2024
    As with many of our blog posts, this is a cross-post from Open Philanthropy, our partner organization. As we enter the holiday giving season, we’re continuing our tradition of sharing a list of giving opportunities suggested by Open Philanthropy program staff. Notes on these suggestions: They fall within the cause areas Open Philanthropy has chosen to focus […].
  • Suggestions for Individual Donors from Open Philanthropy Staff – 2024
    As we enter the holiday giving season, we’re continuing our tradition of sharing a list of giving opportunities suggested by Open Philanthropy program staff. Notes on these suggestions: They fall within the cause areas Open Philanthropy has chosen to focus on. They should be seen as reasonably strong options in the relevant area.
  • MIRI’s 2024 End-of-Year Update
    MIRI is a nonprofit research organization with a mission of addressing the most serious hazards posed by smarter-than-human artificial intelligence. In our general strategy update and communications strategy update earlier this year, we announced a new strategy that we’re executing on at MIRI, and several new teams we’re spinning up as a result. This post... Read more ».
  • SpaceX eyes $350B valuation 💰, Intel CEO resigns 💼, Browser Company's AI demo 🌎
  • What I would love to see in a wallet
  • The 2024 Giving What We Can Donor Lottery is now open
    The Giving What We Can Donor Lottery is now open with a block size of $200,000 USD! . Interested in donor lotteries? We suggest you read our in-depth page on donor lotteries to understand the concept better. Here's a quick summary: A donor lottery gives you a chance to direct a larger sum of money while keeping your own donation amount the same.
  • Summer legal job opportunity: Climate Change & Animal Agriculture Litigation Initiative, Yale Law School
    We're seeking full-time paid law student research assistants for summer of 2025 to support the Climate Change & Animal Agriculture Litigation Initiative within the Law, Environment & Animals Program at Yale Law School. Join our team to use the law to address the climate harms of animal agriculture. Remote or in New Haven. Priority application deadline: Dec. 23, 2024.
  • A case for donating to AI risk reduction (including if you work in AI)
    I work on Open Philanthropy’s AI Governance and Policy team, but I’m writing this in my personal capacity – several senior employees at Open Phil have argued with me about this!. This is a brief-ish post addressed to people who are interested in making high-impact donations and are already concerned about potential risks from advanced AI.
  • Effective Giving: Finding the Best Places to Donate Your Money
    When you think about making a difference through your career, your first thought might be to work directly for a cause you care about, maybe tackling climate change or reducing poverty. This is a great way to make a significant impact, but it’s not the only way to create meaningful... Read more...
  • November 2024 Newsletter
    Giving Season
  • Insect farming: New media coverage on the hidden challenges of the sector
    Summary (TL;DR): Despite being promoted as a sustainable protein source, recent peer-reviewed research by members of the French National Observatory on Insect Farming (ONEI), in collaboration with the Insect Institute, reveals significant economic and environmental challenges.Most farmed insects are used for animal feed and pet food, supporting conventional livestock farming and aquaculture...
  • There's a New Country Ranking and You're Not Going to Like it
    What makes Israel, Qatar, and the Faroe Islands so great?
  • Aliens
    Monday, December 2
  • The Two Big Games
    Imagine a business meeting which will decide if a new project goes forward, or decide key priorities about it.
  • Audio AMA: Allan Saldanha, earning to give since 2014.
    I'll be interviewing Allan Saldanha on Tuesday December 10th. I'll release a podcast version of the interview and a transcript a few days after we record. Leave a comment here if you'd like me to ask Allan a question on your behalf!. A message from Allan:
  • Maximizing the Scientific ROI from International PhDs
    Scientific grants should be awarded on the basis of merit, not nationality.
  • Animal Welfare Implications of Silk and Wool
    Silk fine, wool meh
  • Where Does Meatless Monday Go From Here?
    This review traces the history of the Meatless Monday movement back to World Wars I and II and proposes next steps to better understand its impact. The post Where Does Meatless Monday Go From Here? appeared first on Faunalytics.
  • What Giving To Givewell Prevents
    And what to do about it
  • Open Thread 358
  • Animal Equality updates & vacancies - November 2024
    Hello! Here you can find the November updates from Animal Equality in all the countries in which we operate. We hope that you find it helpful and inspiring. We will also include our current job openings, knowing that we can count on your support to share them with the people you think might be a perfect fit for the role!. . Below you will find November updates: Animal Equality - UK.
  • Hive Slack Threads: November
    Useful conversations & resources from our Slack community
  • On the (h)edge - Systematic risk reduction, current events and updates from FP | EAGxVirtual 2024
    In this talk, the climate team of Founders Pledge introduced systematic risk reduction as a theme of effective climate philanthropy, reflected on the recent US election and its implications for the future, as well as broader changes in the climate landscape. Learn more about effective altruism at: www.effectivealtruism.org Find out more about EA Global conferences at: www.eaglobal.org...
  • Why you should write on the EA Forum | Sarah Cheng & Toby Tremlett | EAGxVirtual 2024
    Writing on the EA Forum can help individuals grow their EA network, enhance the value of their ideas, and contribute to the community's collective knowledge. Anyone attending EAGx probably has something worth sharing. In this session, Sarah Cheng and Toby Tremlett discussed how the Forum can help you have a greater impact, and how to start writing on the Forum.
  • Starting your own EA project: What it takes & who it takes | Steve Thompson | EAGxVirtual 2024
    In this short interactive workshop, Steve Thompson of Charity Entrepreneurship (AIM) set out the key ingredients of high-impact EA projects. He cut through the myths and got to what really matters most. He also shared a whole host of useful resources, tools, and links.
  • From a Side Project to a Funded Organization: My Story and What I've Learned | EAGxVirtual 2024
    Sofia Balderson from Hive shares her journey of building Hive: from a side project to one of the largest and most engaged farmed animal advocacy communities. She discusses the project’s grassroots origins, the power of MVPs, and her path to securing diverse funding, including Open Philanthropy and EA Animal Welfare Fund.
  • Our attempt to increase the AGI readiness of multilateral system | Kevin Kohler | EAGxVirtual 2024
    This talk highlights the need to build an AI governance regime complex to fill the gap in societal readiness for AGI. Kevin explains how the Simon Institute engages with governments and the multilateral system to ensure the development of coherent and effective multilateral AI governance instruments.
  • The Role of Existential Hope in Shaping Our Future | Beatrice Erkers | EAGxVirtual 2024
    In this session, Beatrice Erkers explores the complementary role of "Existential Hope" in shaping the long-term future. The talk introduces concepts like positive trajectory change, utopias, and upside risk, discussing how these ideas can work alongside efforts to reduce existential risks.
  • Operations in AI Safety - Being the muscle of the org | Dušan Nešić | EAGxVirtual 2024
    In this talk, Dušan Nešić shared insights from his experience leading operations at PIBBSS, an AI safety research and field-building organization. Drawing from his work in scaling AI safety initiatives and building communities, he discussed the unique challenges and opportunities in operations management within the AI safety field.
  • 10 Things You Didn't Know About Our World in Data | Pablo Rosado | EAGxVirtual 2024
    In this talk, Pablo shared insights he's gained as Principal Data Scientist at Our World in Data (OWID). He guided us through OWID's content structure and revealed how a small team manages to keep thousands of charts and datasets up to date.
  • Conquering the Valley of Death: Building runway for your high-impact charity | EAGxVirtual 2024
    Céline Kamsteeg from Lafiya Nigeria shared insights into Lafiya’s strategy to attracting sustainable funding while navigating the 'valley of death'. She explored how Lafiya is building trust with donors in the early stages of launching an organization. Learn more about effective altruism at: www.effectivealtruism.org Find out more about EA Global conferences at: www.eaglobal.org...
  • Building a carbon-free future | Varun Deshpande | EAGxVirtual 2024
    Climate change is not a 'traditional' EA cause area, on the basis of tractability and neglectedness. In this talk, Varun posits that a closer examination reveals major opportunities for high-leverage impact. As the global community grows, particularly in Asia and the Global South, we should think expansively and see climate change as a major cause area of opportunity alongside health, poverty,...
  • Convenience-Competitive Plant-Based Meat Would Not Currently Replace Meat | EAGxVirtual 2024
    Plant-based and cultivated meats, like Beyond Sausage and Impossible Burger, are seen as promising alternatives to animal-based foods for health, environmental, and welfare benefits. Some suggest these substitutes could replace animal meats if they match on price, taste, and convenience (PTC). However, this assumption lacks critical review.
  • Intention-impact gap in global health interventions | Elina Christian | EAGxVirtual 2024
    Elina Christian, a medical doctor, public health student, and volunteer at High Impact Medicine, talked about some underlying concepts on how to evaluate and support impactful global health interventions. She touched on the moral imperative toward cost-effectiveness in global health and suggested some ideas on how you can get involved.
  • Magnify Mentoring: Successes, challenges, and lessons | Kathryn Mecrow-Flynn | EAGxVirtual 2024
    During this session, Kathryn reflected on lessons learned from founding Magnify Mentoring. Magnify Mentoring connects and supports people, specifically those from underrepresented backgrounds, who are ambitious and rigorous in their altruism, to have a positive impact with their careers and lives.
  • Working with governments to eliminate lead exposure | James Snowden, Tom Hird | EAGxVirtual 2024
    Lead exposure is estimated to kill more people than HIV/Aids and malaria combined, but receives about 1,000x less development funding. Open Philanthropy recently launched the Lead Exposure Action Fund to address the issue, and announced the fund alongside a public private partnership with with USAID and UNICEF.
  • Sebastian Lodemann Memorial Lectures on Regulating General Purpose AI Systems | EAGxVirtual 2024
    In this session, three experts spoke in turn about the regulation of General Purpose AI Systems. Claire Boine gave an overview of GPAIS regulations. Céline Castets-Renard discussed the EU GPAIS code of practice. Richard Mallah talked about a missing element in GPAIS regulation.
  • 3 Travel Tips for Families
    (with young children)
  • USAID launches new collaboration with leading evidence organizations to improve Agency cost-effectiveness
    USAID launches new collaboration with leading evidence organizations to improve Agency cost-effectiveness A global consortium will leverage a Nobel Prize-winning approach to guide the fight against global poverty. ekeller Mon, 12/02/2024 - 08:46...
  • 2024 Staff Diversity Survey Results
    In June 2024, ACE conducted its second annual staff diversity survey. Read the highlights from the 2024 staff survey results. …  Read more...
  • Details about the iOS Inactivity Reboot Feature
    I recently wrote about the new iOS feature that forces an iPhone to reboot after it’s been inactive for a longish period of time. Here are the technical details, discovered through reverse engineering. The feature triggers after seventy-two hours of inactivity, even it is remains connected to Wi-Fi.
  • The EU AI Act Newsletter #66: Huge Edition
    Independent experts have presented the initial draft of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice and consultation on AI Act prohibitions and AI system definition is now open. Legislative Process First draft of the Code of Practice available now: Independent experts have presented the initial draft of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice, having completed the first of four drafting rounds...
  • The EU AI Act Newsletter #66: Huge Edition
    Independent experts have presented the initial draft of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice and consultation on AI Act prohibitions and AI system definition is now open.
  • Culture Status Report
    I’ve been focused on cultural drift for about nine months now, and the probability estimates in my last post make this a good time to take stock.
  • US airlines have transported passengers for more than two light-years since the last plane crash
    Sometimes, the most important news is when something isn’t happening.
  • The 2024 Giving What We Can Donor Lottery is now open
  • 2025 charity recommendations are in!
  • Tesla's next-gen self driving 🚗, US killed Meta crypto 🪙, the rise of PIPs 💼
  • Luck Based Medicine: No Good Very Bad Winter Cured My Hypothyroidism
    I’ve previously written about Luck Based Medicine: the idea that, having exhausted all the reasonable cures for some issue, you are better off just trying shit rather than trying to reason more cures into existence.
  • Population ethics and the veil of ignorance
    Summary: I propose a population ethical theory (dynamically consistent actualism) that can be derived from a veil of ignorance thought-experiment. As this theory is derivable from a procedure of justice, the population ethical theory might gain more credibility. This theory … Lees verder →...
  • Passing
    Sunday, December 1
  • Cultural Scenario Probabilities
    On Oct 25 I posted on the rankings given by polls on 16 cultural drift scenarios re their relative likelihood, desirability, and ease of influence.
  • How I Write So Many Articles
    I write about 1,500 words per day. How do I do this?
  • The Mariel Boatlift
    Note: This post was crossposted from Lauren Policy by the Forum team, with the author's permission. The author may not see or respond to comments on this post. Some housekeeping first: This is the first post in a living literature review on migration. Basically, I’ll review what the academic literature has to say about a particular topic in migration.
  • this week in security — december 1 edition
    this week in security — december 1 edition Supply chain ransomware attack hits grocery stores, Snowflake's third hacker identified, T-Mobile hacked, and more. ~this week in security~. a cybersecurity newsletter by @zackwhittaker 🦃 volume 7, issue 44 🦃 View this email in your browser | RSS ~ ~ THIS WEEK, TL;DR. U.S. and U.K grocery stores hit by outages...
  • A surprise solar boom reveals a fatal flaw in our climate change projections
    When the satellites zoomed in, you could see the panels gleaming from space. Pairing images taken miles above the Earth with Chinese customs records, BloombergNEF solar analyst Jenny Chase and her team discovered this year that the rooftops of homes and factories across Pakistan are blanketed with solar panels. Catching their own government by surprise, […]...
  • Expanding Your Impact: Effective Giving Beyond Donations
    A joint post by Nina Friedrich🔸 from High Impact Professionals (HIP) and James Rayton🔸 from Giving What We Can (GWWC). When we first commit to effective giving, it often starts with a pledge - a promise to donate a portion of our income to high-impact causes. But once that commitment is made, a new question arises: How can we amplify our impact beyond just our financial contributions?.
  • Im Dezember zählt jede Spende doppelt
  • AXRP Episode 39 - Evan Hubinger on Model Organisms of Misalignment
    YouTube link. The ‘model organisms of misalignment’ line of research creates AI models that exhibit various types of misalignment, and studies them to try to understand how the misalignment occurs and whether it can be somehow removed. In this episode, Evan Hubinger talks about two papers he’s worked on at Anthropic under this agenda: “Sleeper Agents” and “Sycophancy to Subterfuge”.
  • #210 – Dismantling the myth that we can't do anything to help wild animals (Cameron Meyer Shorb on The 80,000 Hours Podcast)
    We just published an interview: Cameron Meyer Shorb on dismantling the myth that we can't do anything to help wild animals. Listen on Spotify, watch on Youtube, or click through for other audio options, the transcript, and related links. Below are the episode summary and some key excerpts. Episode summary.
  • Are There Stable High-Dimensional Ecosystems of Mind?
    DMT experiences can give you a sense for how multidimensional hive minds might be workable. Example: I met a yoga teacher at the Texas Eclipse festival earlier this year who explained that she has been receiving instructions for a new kind of yoga modality that helps with deep trauma from a hive mind that “lives […]...
  • What is a dollar
    A dollar is a promise. A promise that you will be able to acquire goods and services from Americans. But it is not a specific promise for specific goods, but a vague promise. It is however a promise with momentum, and the rest of the world has coordinated around the power of the dollar for trade.
  • Bay Area Alignment Workshop 2024
    Website YouTube Express Interest. On October 24-25, 2024, Santa Cruz became the focal point for AI safety as 160 researchers and leaders from academia, industry, government, and nonprofits gathered for the Bay Area Alignment Workshop.
  • Inventing Reality
    Saturday, November 30
  • There's No Patriarchy
    In the west
  • Bad Karmala
    I wrote a (long) short story about the 2024 election.
  • How did Elphaba become wicked? There’s a hidden message people keep missing.
    Everyone wants to hold space for “Defying Gravity,” the powerhouse anthem from Wicked, the Broadway musical-turned-movie blockbuster. But behind the in-your-face themes of female rivalry and friendship, unrequited love, and the unfortunate circumstance of being green, there’s a deeper undercurrent: the alienation that comes when you stand behind what you believe in. The story — […]...
  • Should we put pig organs in humans? We asked an ethicist.
    In 2022, surgeons transplanted the first genetically engineered pig heart into a human. Fifty-seven-year-old David Bennett, a patient with heart failure, survived almost two months with a pig heart beating in his chest, one of five people who have received pig organs as a part of an experimental procedure called xenotransplantation — the transplanting of […]...
  • Things I read and liked in November
    Reminder about the lost art of discovering new music without the direction of algorithms.
  • Et si la dissuasion nucléaire échoue ?
    Minute zéro. Pour une raison inconnue, la Corée du Nord déclenche une attaque surprise. Un missile intercontinental thermonucléaire est lancé vers le Pentagone. Les États-Unis détectent la menace et le président a exactement six minutes pour décider si c’est une fausse alerte ou non. Pendant ce laps de temps, les missiles interceptors tirés pour contrer l'attaque échouent. Minute 24.
  • Cameron Meyer Shorb on dismantling the myth that we can’t do anything to help wild animals
    The post Cameron Meyer Shorb on dismantling the myth that we can’t do anything to help wild animals appeared first on 80,000 Hours.
  • Friday Squid Blogging: Squid-Inspired Needle Technology
    Interesting research: Using jet propulsion inspired by squid, researchers demonstrate a microjet system that delivers medications directly into tissues, matching the effectiveness of traditional needles. Blog moderation policy.
  • On Attention as the Management of Electromagnetic Field Lines
    Try to focus your attention on the exact center of your visual field right now. Notice how the seemingly straightforward task reveals systematic instabilities: wavering, drifting, and transforming in characteristic ways. These effects aren’t random noise; they suggest an underlying physical mechanism that shapes how attention behaves more broadly. I’ve been developing a model at […]...
  • New Global Priorities Institute research agendas
    We are excited to release the Global Priorities Institute’s new research agendas. GPI’s previous agenda integrated discussion of research priorities in both economics and philosophy. In contrast, we now have distinct agendas for each of our three core research areas: philosophy, economics, and psychology. The new philosophy agenda has four sections.
  • Cost-effectiveness of corporate campaigns for chicken welfare
    The views expressed here are my own, not those of my employers or people who provided feedback. Summary: I estimate broiler welfare and cage-free corporate campaigns increase welfare per living time by 92.9 % and 80.4 %, which are not far from the increase of 100 % that would be obtained for improved conditions respecting neutral lives.
  • 2024: The Year in Review
    We turned 20 years old this year! We look at two decades of impact, and give an overview of twelve high impact projects and initiatives from 2024. The post 2024: The Year in Review appeared first on New Harvest.
  • The Republicans Are No Longer Conservative
    Trump has reverence for institutions and norms the way Jeffrey Dahmer has reverence for cannibalism laws
  • Weird Nerd Moralism
    Let's talk about Nietzsche without having read him!
  • Invertebrate Welfare Is Overlooked In Public Aquariums
    Aquarium visitors sometimes mention animal welfare issues when writing online reviews, but invertebrates are rarely considered. The post Invertebrate Welfare Is Overlooked In Public Aquariums appeared first on Faunalytics.
  • Hope Drop #32: Adam Marblestone | Solving Science’s Biggest Gaps
    "We’re building infrastructure for the scientific process itself, like the Hubble Space Telescope but across many disciplines."...
  • History is in the making
    It's technology and ideas, not politics, that change our lives the most. History should reflect that.
  • Introdução ao curso "Ética Animal na prática do Altruísmo Eficaz: uma introdução"
    O objetivo do curso é criar uma ponte entre os dois movimentos, tanto para que altruístas eficazes conheçam os debates na área de ética animal quanto ativistas da causa animal conheçam os debates sobre como causarmos o maior bem possível.
  • Transformer Weekly — Nov 29
    Incoming export controls | AI czar? | Anthropic + Amazon
  • Curso "Ética Animal na prática do Altruísmo Eficaz: uma introdução" - aula 3
    O objetivo do curso é criar uma ponte entre os dois movimentos, tanto para que altruístas eficazes conheçam os debates na área de ética animal quanto ativistas da causa animal conheçam os debates sobre como causarmos o maior bem possível. Nesta aula, são abordados os seguintes temas: 1. Conceitos centrais no debate sobre a importância do futuro 2.
  • Curso "Ética Animal na prática do Altruísmo Eficaz: uma introdução" - aula 2
    O objetivo do curso é criar uma ponte entre os dois movimentos, tanto para que altruístas eficazes conheçam os debates na área de ética animal quanto ativistas da causa animal conheçam os debates sobre como causarmos o maior bem possível. Nesta aula, são abordados os seguintes temas: 1. Como os processos naturais afetam os animais na natureza 2.

Loading...