Executive summary: Several key moments in Effective Altruism’s history—such as the shift from earning to give toward talent-focused impact, the professionalization of operations roles, and the consolidation of EA as a movement—were the result of deliberate steering by engaged individuals and organizations.
Key points:
Talent gaps shift (2015): Ben Todd’s post on talent gaps played a pivotal role in shifting EA career focus from earning to give toward direct work, accelerating engagement with emerging cause areas.
Operations push (2018): Recognizing a shortage of skilled operations staff, 80,000 Hours and CEA promoted ops careers, leading to increased professionalism and capacity within EA organizations.
Formation of EA as a movement: Initially, EA existed as separate, loosely connected communities; figures like Kerry Vaughan and organizations like .impact helped consolidate EA under a shared identity.
Creation of EA spaces: CEA led efforts to establish dedicated EA spaces, reinforcing community infrastructure and coordination.
Other key steering moments: The EA Survey, the spin-out of Giving What We Can, and other structural shifts demonstrate the role of proactive guidance in shaping EA’s development.
Lessons on stewardship: Many of these shifts required individuals with deep context and vision to push forward non-obvious but impactful changes.
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Executive summary: Several key moments in Effective Altruism’s history—such as the shift from earning to give toward talent-focused impact, the professionalization of operations roles, and the consolidation of EA as a movement—were the result of deliberate steering by engaged individuals and organizations.
Key points:
Talent gaps shift (2015): Ben Todd’s post on talent gaps played a pivotal role in shifting EA career focus from earning to give toward direct work, accelerating engagement with emerging cause areas.
Operations push (2018): Recognizing a shortage of skilled operations staff, 80,000 Hours and CEA promoted ops careers, leading to increased professionalism and capacity within EA organizations.
Formation of EA as a movement: Initially, EA existed as separate, loosely connected communities; figures like Kerry Vaughan and organizations like .impact helped consolidate EA under a shared identity.
Creation of EA spaces: CEA led efforts to establish dedicated EA spaces, reinforcing community infrastructure and coordination.
Other key steering moments: The EA Survey, the spin-out of Giving What We Can, and other structural shifts demonstrate the role of proactive guidance in shaping EA’s development.
Lessons on stewardship: Many of these shifts required individuals with deep context and vision to push forward non-obvious but impactful changes.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.