If you are a consequentialist, then incorporating the consequences of reputation into your cost-benefit assessment is “actually behaving with integrity.” Why is it more honest—or even perceived as more honest—for SBF to exempt reputational consequences from what he thinks is most helpful?
Insofar as SBF’s reputation and EA’s reputation are linked, I agree with you (and disagree with OP) that it could be seen as cynical and hypocritical for SBF to suddenly focus on American beneficiaries in particular. These have never otherwise been EA priorities, so he would be transparently buying popularity. But I don’t think funding GiveWell’s short-term causes—nor even funding them more than you otherwise would for reputational reasons—is equally hypocritical in a way that suggests a lack of integrity. These are still among the most helpful things our community has identified. They are heavily funded by OpenPhilanthropy and by a huge portion of self-identified EAs, even apart from their reputational benefits. Many, both inside and outside the movement, see malaria bednets as the quintessential EA intervention. Nobody outside the movement would see that as a betrayal of EA principles.
Insofar as EA and SBF’s reputations are severable, perhaps it doesn’t matter what’s quintessentially EA, because “EA principles” are broader than SBF’s personal priorities. But in that case, because SBF’s personal priorities incline him towards political activism on longtermism, they should also incline him towards reputation management. Caring about things with instrumental value to protecting the future should not be seen as a dishonest deviation from longtermist beliefs, because it isn’t!
In another context, doing broadly popular and helpful things you “actually don’t think are the most helpful” might just be called hedging against moral uncertainty. Responsiveness to social pressure on altruists’ moral priorities is a humble admission that our niche and esoteric movement may have blind spots. It’s also, again, what representative politics are all about. If we want to literally help govern the country, we must be inclusive. We must convey that we are not here to evangelize to the ignorant masses, but are self-aware enough to incorporate their values. So if there’s a broad bipartisan belief that the very rich have obligations to the poor, SBF may have to validate that if he wants to be seen as altruistic elsewhere.
(I’m in a rush, so apologies if the above rambles).
Thank you, this is helpful. I do agree with you that there is a difference between supporting GiveWell-recommended charities and supporting American beneficiaries. More generally, my argument wasn’t directly about what donations Sam Bankman-Fried or other effective altruists should make, but rather about what arguments are brought to bear on that issue. Insofar as an analysis of direct impact suggests that certain charities should be funded, I obviously have no objection to that. My comment rather concerned the fact that the OP, in my view, put too much emphasis on reputational considerations relative to direct impact. (And I think this has been a broader pattern on the forum lately, which is part of the reason I thought it was worth pointing out.)
If you are a consequentialist, then incorporating the consequences of reputation into your cost-benefit assessment is “actually behaving with integrity.” Why is it more honest—or even perceived as more honest—for SBF to exempt reputational consequences from what he thinks is most helpful?
Insofar as SBF’s reputation and EA’s reputation are linked, I agree with you (and disagree with OP) that it could be seen as cynical and hypocritical for SBF to suddenly focus on American beneficiaries in particular. These have never otherwise been EA priorities, so he would be transparently buying popularity. But I don’t think funding GiveWell’s short-term causes—nor even funding them more than you otherwise would for reputational reasons—is equally hypocritical in a way that suggests a lack of integrity. These are still among the most helpful things our community has identified. They are heavily funded by OpenPhilanthropy and by a huge portion of self-identified EAs, even apart from their reputational benefits. Many, both inside and outside the movement, see malaria bednets as the quintessential EA intervention. Nobody outside the movement would see that as a betrayal of EA principles.
Insofar as EA and SBF’s reputations are severable, perhaps it doesn’t matter what’s quintessentially EA, because “EA principles” are broader than SBF’s personal priorities. But in that case, because SBF’s personal priorities incline him towards political activism on longtermism, they should also incline him towards reputation management. Caring about things with instrumental value to protecting the future should not be seen as a dishonest deviation from longtermist beliefs, because it isn’t!
In another context, doing broadly popular and helpful things you “actually don’t think are the most helpful” might just be called hedging against moral uncertainty. Responsiveness to social pressure on altruists’ moral priorities is a humble admission that our niche and esoteric movement may have blind spots. It’s also, again, what representative politics are all about. If we want to literally help govern the country, we must be inclusive. We must convey that we are not here to evangelize to the ignorant masses, but are self-aware enough to incorporate their values. So if there’s a broad bipartisan belief that the very rich have obligations to the poor, SBF may have to validate that if he wants to be seen as altruistic elsewhere.
(I’m in a rush, so apologies if the above rambles).
Thank you, this is helpful. I do agree with you that there is a difference between supporting GiveWell-recommended charities and supporting American beneficiaries. More generally, my argument wasn’t directly about what donations Sam Bankman-Fried or other effective altruists should make, but rather about what arguments are brought to bear on that issue. Insofar as an analysis of direct impact suggests that certain charities should be funded, I obviously have no objection to that. My comment rather concerned the fact that the OP, in my view, put too much emphasis on reputational considerations relative to direct impact. (And I think this has been a broader pattern on the forum lately, which is part of the reason I thought it was worth pointing out.)