<
https://www.techdirt.com/2024/04/29/effective-altruisms-bait-and-switch-from-global-poverty-to-ai-doomerism/>
"Effective Altruism (EA) is typically explained as a philosophy that encourages
individuals to do the “most good” with their resources (money, skills). Its
“effective giving” aspect was marketed as evidence-based charities serving the
global poor. The Effective Altruism philosophy was formally crystallized as a
social movement with the launch of the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) in
February 2012 by Toby Ord, Will MacAskill, Nick Beckstead, and Michelle
Hutchinson. Two other organizations, “Giving What We Can” (GWWC) and “80,000
Hours,” were brought under CEA’s umbrella, and the movement became officially
known as Effective Altruism.
Effective Altruists (EAs) were praised in the media as “charity nerds” looking
to maximize the number of “lives saved” per dollar spent, with initiatives like
providing anti-malarial bed nets in sub-Saharan Africa.
If this movement sounds familiar to you, it’s thanks to Sam Bankman-Fried
(SBF). With FTX, Bankman-Fried was attempting to fulfill what William MacAskill
taught him about Effective Altruism: “Earn to give.” In November 2023, SBF was
convicted of seven fraud charges (stealing $10 billion from customers and
investors). In March 2024, SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Since SBF
was one of the largest Effective Altruism donors, public perception of this
movement has declined due to his fraudulent behavior. It turned out that the
“Earn to give” concept was susceptible to the “Ends justify the means”
mentality.
In 2016, the main funder of Effective Altruism, Open Philanthropy, designated
“AI Safety” a priority area, and the leading EA organization 80,000 Hours
declared artificial intelligence (AI) existential risk (x-risk) is the world’s
most pressing problem. It looked like a major shift in focus and was portrayed
as a “mission drift.” It wasn’t.
What looked to outsiders – in the general public, academia, media, and politics
– as a “sudden embrace of AI x-risk” was a misconception. The confusion existed
because many people were unaware that Effective Altruism has always been
devoted to this agenda."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
