The passing of Sebastian Lodemann
With immense sadness, we want to let the community know about the passing of Sebastian Lodemann, who lost his life on November 9th, 2023, in a completely unexpected and sudden accident. Those who have met him know how humble and kind he was, in addition to being a brilliant and energetic person full of light. Sebastian was deeply altruistic, curious, and took seriously both the challenges facing our world, and its potential. He loved connecting with humans from across the globe and supporting as many people as he could, so there will be a wide international community of people who will keenly feel his absence.
Sebastian has been involved with EA since 2016, working on a wide range of projects in AI governance and strategy, pandemic prevention, civilisational resilience and career advising, and taking the Giving What We Can pledge.
We extend our deepest sympathies to Sebastian’s wife, his children, his parents and the rest of their family during this incredibly difficult time. We stand with them in mourning and in honoring the memory of a wonderful person who was taken from us far too soon.
Sebastian’s funeral ceremony took place on November 18th.
Here are some steps you can take to commemorate Sebastian:
You can make a donation to Sebastian’s wife and children here (in euros) or here (in USD or in CAD). For other currencies, you can contact us as commemoratesebastian@gmail.com*
If you would like to be invited to a virtual gathering in memory of Sebastian, please complete this short form or email commemoratesebastian@gmail.com
To share memories of Sebastian for his family and his young children to know who their father was and how he was a force for good in the world in ways they might not otherwise get to learn, you can use this link, or share your thoughts in the comments.
This is such devastating news and a huge loss to this community. Sebastian was deeply kind, thoughtful and selfless. He volunteered at several EAGs, and was always generous with his time; my colleagues and I learned of his passing because he was providing input on a project as a favour to us.
Whenever I saw him, and once I’d learned about all the projects he was driving forward, his face would light up as he told me about all the new things his kids had learned or started saying.
I feel very lucky to have known him, and he will be sorely missed by so many.
Thanks a lot for sharing, and for your work supporting his family and for generally helping the people who knew him in processing this loss. I only recently got to know him during the last two EA conferences I attended but he left a strong impression of being a very kind and caring and thoughtful person.
I’m so sorry to hear this news. I’m glad that this community can be a place of remembrance and to honor Sebastian’s commitment to impact and giving. I especially wish strength and peace for Sebastian’s family.