I really appreciate the value of reevaluating ideas from a beginnerās mind and doing oneās best to examine the status quo with as little bias as possible. That said, among the things to be evaluated at present when considering effective altruism include the existence of a community, professional network, funding, and momentum of active work. This all indicates the revealed preference of thousands of people that find motivation in the ideas and from other members. When trying to personally decide if āeffective altruism still has a reason to exist?ā one should take into account that it already does exist and provides resources that many people find valuable.
Along with many others, I donāt find any incompatibility between work on AI (and other) x-risk and global health, because I know Iām uncertain about the future. If the probability of TAI within 10 years is, as I believe, somewhere between 20ā80% (median 65%), and the probability of my GHWB donations helping people is ~95%, then it makes sense to prioritize both. The wider world understands the value of taking a portfolio approach to investing (e.g. I think a long recession is likely so I have more liquid assets than some recommend, but I still maintain a decent proportion of my worth in standard ETFs, and this is a ānormalā way to invest). But EA is the only place Iāve found that ātakes doing good under uncertaintyā seriously enough to consider impact portfolios as a way to maximize good, rather than primarily as a way to ease investorsā consciences while trying to generate returns.
I really appreciate the value of reevaluating ideas from a beginnerās mind and doing oneās best to examine the status quo with as little bias as possible. That said, among the things to be evaluated at present when considering effective altruism include the existence of a community, professional network, funding, and momentum of active work. This all indicates the revealed preference of thousands of people that find motivation in the ideas and from other members. When trying to personally decide if āeffective altruism still has a reason to exist?ā one should take into account that it already does exist and provides resources that many people find valuable.
Along with many others, I donāt find any incompatibility between work on AI (and other) x-risk and global health, because I know Iām uncertain about the future. If the probability of TAI within 10 years is, as I believe, somewhere between 20ā80% (median 65%), and the probability of my GHWB donations helping people is ~95%, then it makes sense to prioritize both. The wider world understands the value of taking a portfolio approach to investing (e.g. I think a long recession is likely so I have more liquid assets than some recommend, but I still maintain a decent proportion of my worth in standard ETFs, and this is a ānormalā way to invest). But EA is the only place Iāve found that ātakes doing good under uncertaintyā seriously enough to consider impact portfolios as a way to maximize good, rather than primarily as a way to ease investorsā consciences while trying to generate returns.