Several years after it was written, it feels more relevant than ever. I see so much media coverage of Effective Altruism which is at worst negative—often presented as rich tech bros trying to ease their conscience about their rich lifestyle and high salaries, especially after SBF—and at best grudgingly positive, as for example in the article in Time this week.
I’m relatively new to EA—about 2 years in the community, about 1 year actively involved. And what I’ve noticed is the dramatic contrast between how EA is often presented (cold, logical, even cynical), and the people within EA, who are passionate about doing good, caring, friendly and incredibly supportive and helpful.
It’s frustrating when something like SBF’s implosion happens, and it does hurt the image of EA. But the EA community needs to keep pushing back on the narrative that we are cold and calculating.
So, I really love this post because what it’s saying is the opposite to the common misperception: In fact, in a world of cold indifference, the EA’s are the group who are not indifferent, who care so much that they will work to help people they will never meet, animals they will never understand, future generations they won’t live to see.
This might be a little bit of a nitpick, but I would say “EA is one of the groups [rather than the group] who are not indifferent”, because there are others.
I loved reading this post.
Several years after it was written, it feels more relevant than ever. I see so much media coverage of Effective Altruism which is at worst negative—often presented as rich tech bros trying to ease their conscience about their rich lifestyle and high salaries, especially after SBF—and at best grudgingly positive, as for example in the article in Time this week.
I’m relatively new to EA—about 2 years in the community, about 1 year actively involved. And what I’ve noticed is the dramatic contrast between how EA is often presented (cold, logical, even cynical), and the people within EA, who are passionate about doing good, caring, friendly and incredibly supportive and helpful.
It’s frustrating when something like SBF’s implosion happens, and it does hurt the image of EA. But the EA community needs to keep pushing back on the narrative that we are cold and calculating.
So, I really love this post because what it’s saying is the opposite to the common misperception: In fact, in a world of cold indifference, the EA’s are the group who are not indifferent, who care so much that they will work to help people they will never meet, animals they will never understand, future generations they won’t live to see.
Nice thoughts, Denis!
This might be a little bit of a nitpick, but I would say “EA is one of the groups [rather than the group] who are not indifferent”, because there are others.