A set of related questions RE: longtermism/neartermism and community building.
1a) What is the ideal theory of change for Effective Altruism as a movement in the next 5-10 years? What exactly does EA look like, in the scenarios that community builders or groups doing EA outreach are aiming for? This may have implications for outreach strategies as well as cause prioritization.[1]
1b) What are the views of various community builders and community building funders in the space on the above? Do funders communicate and collaborate on a shared theory of change, or are there competing views? If so, which organizations best characterize these differences, what are the main cruxes/where are the main sources of tension?
2a) A commonly talked about tension on this forum seems to relate to neartermism versus longtermism, or AI safety versus more publicly friendly cause areas in the global health space. How much of its value is because it’s inherently a valuable cause area, and how much of it is because it’s intended as an onramp to longtermism/AI safety?
2b) What are the views of folks doing outreach and funders of community builders in EA on the above? If there are different approaches, which organizations best characterize these differences, what are the main cruxes/where are the main sources of tension? I would be particularly interested in responses from people who know what CEA’s views are on this, given they explicitly state they are not doing cause-area specific work or research. [2]
3) Are there equivalents [3] of Longview Philanthropy who are EA aligned but do not focus on longtermism? For example, what EA-aligned organization do I contact if I’m a very wealthy individual donor who isn’t interested in AI safety/longtermism but is interested in animal welfare and global health? Have there been donors (individual or organizational) who fit this category, and if so, who have they been referred to/how have they been managed?
Under Where we are not focusing: “Cause-specific work (such as community building specifically for effective animal advocacy, AI safety, biosecurity, etc.)”
3. I’m not sure they do as much bespoke advising as Longview, but I’d say GiveWell and Farmed Animal Funders. I think you could contact either one with the amount you’re thinking of giving and they could tell you what kind of advising they can provide.
A set of related questions RE: longtermism/neartermism and community building.
1a) What is the ideal theory of change for Effective Altruism as a movement in the next 5-10 years? What exactly does EA look like, in the scenarios that community builders or groups doing EA outreach are aiming for? This may have implications for outreach strategies as well as cause prioritization.[1]
1b) What are the views of various community builders and community building funders in the space on the above? Do funders communicate and collaborate on a shared theory of change, or are there competing views? If so, which organizations best characterize these differences, what are the main cruxes/where are the main sources of tension?
2a) A commonly talked about tension on this forum seems to relate to neartermism versus longtermism, or AI safety versus more publicly friendly cause areas in the global health space. How much of its value is because it’s inherently a valuable cause area, and how much of it is because it’s intended as an onramp to longtermism/AI safety?
2b) What are the views of folks doing outreach and funders of community builders in EA on the above? If there are different approaches, which organizations best characterize these differences, what are the main cruxes/where are the main sources of tension? I would be particularly interested in responses from people who know what CEA’s views are on this, given they explicitly state they are not doing cause-area specific work or research. [2]
3) Are there equivalents [3] of Longview Philanthropy who are EA aligned but do not focus on longtermism? For example, what EA-aligned organization do I contact if I’m a very wealthy individual donor who isn’t interested in AI safety/longtermism but is interested in animal welfare and global health? Have there been donors (individual or organizational) who fit this category, and if so, who have they been referred to/how have they been managed?
“Big tent” effective altruism is very important (particularly right now) is one example of a proposed model, but if folks think AI timelines are <10 years away and p(doom) is very high, then they might argue EA should just aggressively recruit for AI safety folks in elite unis.
Under Where we are not focusing: “Cause-specific work (such as community building specifically for effective animal advocacy, AI safety, biosecurity, etc.)”
“designs and executes bespoke giving strategies for major donors”
3. I’m not sure they do as much bespoke advising as Longview, but I’d say GiveWell and Farmed Animal Funders. I think you could contact either one with the amount you’re thinking of giving and they could tell you what kind of advising they can provide.