But the main lesson is that all three of these things—warm fuzzies, status, and expected utilons—can be bought far more efficiently when you buy separately, optimizing for only one thing at a time.
Trying to optimize for all three criteria in one go only ensures that none of them end up optimized very well—just vague pushes along all three dimensions.
Perhaps this is another way to think about it.
In one of the EA job or volunteering applications I was asked:
If you made $50,000 USD per year, how much would you donate to charity, to which organization(s), and why?
This is the answer I gave and I believe it satisfies both warm fuzzies (80000hours.org), and expected good done (Against Malaria Foundation) at the same time:
Effectively, even though I’m only donating $5,000, the actual amount donated becomes a total of $8,600 USD ($6,880 goes to Against Malaria Foundation (a charity that’s doing high-impact work proven by evidence and analysis), and $1,720 goes to 80000hours.org (a charity I believe is vital to furthering the EA movement and bringing in future EAs))
Of course, the warm fuzzies can be substituted for any other charity that your heart wants to give to. I think this is a great way to encouraging giving from the heart and the head
We make it easy to give from the “heart” and the “head” with our donation splitting system, made possible by our partners at Every.org. You pick the charity that speaks most to your heart. No researchers can do that for you. You also pick a charity that researchers have identified as extremely effective. And with just a few clicks, you can support both charities, dividing your donation however you choose.[1]
Perhaps this is another way to think about it.
In one of the EA job or volunteering applications I was asked:
This is the answer I gave and I believe it satisfies both warm fuzzies (80000hours.org), and expected good done (Against Malaria Foundation) at the same time:
I would donate 10% ($5,000) to https://givingmultiplier.org/ and split the donations so that 80% goes to Against Malaria Foundation (one of the charities recommended by https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities) and 20% to 80000hours.org. By committing 80% to a super-effective charity, it boosts the matching rate to 72% in Giving Multiplier, which amounts to $3,600 USD.
Effectively, even though I’m only donating $5,000, the actual amount donated becomes a total of $8,600 USD ($6,880 goes to Against Malaria Foundation (a charity that’s doing high-impact work proven by evidence and analysis), and $1,720 goes to 80000hours.org (a charity I believe is vital to furthering the EA movement and bringing in future EAs))
Of course, the warm fuzzies can be substituted for any other charity that your heart wants to give to. I think this is a great way to encouraging giving from the heart and the head
https://givingmultiplier.org/philosophy