Vin’s BOAS company is an example of a Profit for Good business that I referenced in a different comment.
And yeah, other than maybe AI Safety, IMHO, Profit for Good is by far the most promising of any cause area because it can multiply funding for effective charities that are potentially popular among consumers (global health and development, animal welfare, climate change). The fundamental premise it boils down to is that people have a nonzero preference for such causes over the enrichment of random investors. If people could buy some damn laundry detergent of the same price and quality and the Against Malaria Foundation would profit rather than random investors, they would.
I have been immensely disappointed in EAs lack of interest in Profit for Good. If we had EA funds, expertise, time, and wisdom behind the endeavor, there is no reason that we could not present such a choice to the people of the world. I suppose the people of the world have shown that they are extremely selfish, most not donating even if it could benefit the recipient over 50-100x more than it could the prospective donor. However, we believe most people would still choose to benefit AMF, for instance, rather than a wealthy shareholder, if no sacrifice was required whatsoever, and we believe EA’s lack of interest in testing this proposition is absurd. The hundreds of millions of people living in extreme poverty and billions of animals being tortured to death every year deserve better than a collective “oh, this sounds cool; glad someone is doing it.”
In the event that this comment tree is the first you’ve heard about this idea, this is a reading list of some of our writings and thoughts on Profit for Good.
Vin’s BOAS company is an example of a Profit for Good business that I referenced in a different comment.
And yeah, other than maybe AI Safety, IMHO, Profit for Good is by far the most promising of any cause area because it can multiply funding for effective charities that are potentially popular among consumers (global health and development, animal welfare, climate change). The fundamental premise it boils down to is that people have a nonzero preference for such causes over the enrichment of random investors. If people could buy some damn laundry detergent of the same price and quality and the Against Malaria Foundation would profit rather than random investors, they would.
I have been immensely disappointed in EAs lack of interest in Profit for Good. If we had EA funds, expertise, time, and wisdom behind the endeavor, there is no reason that we could not present such a choice to the people of the world. I suppose the people of the world have shown that they are extremely selfish, most not donating even if it could benefit the recipient over 50-100x more than it could the prospective donor. However, we believe most people would still choose to benefit AMF, for instance, rather than a wealthy shareholder, if no sacrifice was required whatsoever, and we believe EA’s lack of interest in testing this proposition is absurd. The hundreds of millions of people living in extreme poverty and billions of animals being tortured to death every year deserve better than a collective “oh, this sounds cool; glad someone is doing it.”
In the event that this comment tree is the first you’ve heard about this idea, this is a reading list of some of our writings and thoughts on Profit for Good.