I think it more often goes the other way, in that there are interventions that look good to EAs that look less good to int/a. For example, I’m relative negative on unconditional cash transfers, and I think most of the evidence showing they work is too narrowly scoped and fails to consider what happens to a society that is nicer only because of handouts and is failing to build a self-sustaining economic engine needed for the niceness to persist. I know some such programs are aware of this problem and try to address it, but it also leaves me feeling like there might be better solutions.
I guess on the other side maybe I’d say EA is by default too negative on arts charities. I’m not saying that your typical arts charity is effective, but I am saying I think it’d be a mistake if we reallocated all arts funding to top GiveWell charities, as access to museums is worth something even if it’s hard to qualify against human lives (perhaps more generally, I think not all goods are actually as fungible as the typical EA thinks).
FWIW I doubt there are many (any?) EAs that would advocate for reallocating “ all arts funding to top GiveWell charities”. Everything is at the margin!
I’ve definitely met EAs who were maximizers who didn’t believe in acting on the margin. Of course, as the movement has grown, I think there’s relatively fewer of these people since most people prefer to act on the margin rather than totalize.
Any examples of interventions EA might overlook that int/a rates highly in your view? (No need to speak for others)
I think it more often goes the other way, in that there are interventions that look good to EAs that look less good to int/a. For example, I’m relative negative on unconditional cash transfers, and I think most of the evidence showing they work is too narrowly scoped and fails to consider what happens to a society that is nicer only because of handouts and is failing to build a self-sustaining economic engine needed for the niceness to persist. I know some such programs are aware of this problem and try to address it, but it also leaves me feeling like there might be better solutions.
I guess on the other side maybe I’d say EA is by default too negative on arts charities. I’m not saying that your typical arts charity is effective, but I am saying I think it’d be a mistake if we reallocated all arts funding to top GiveWell charities, as access to museums is worth something even if it’s hard to qualify against human lives (perhaps more generally, I think not all goods are actually as fungible as the typical EA thinks).
FWIW I doubt there are many (any?) EAs that would advocate for reallocating “ all arts funding to top GiveWell charities”. Everything is at the margin!
I’ve definitely met EAs who were maximizers who didn’t believe in acting on the margin. Of course, as the movement has grown, I think there’s relatively fewer of these people since most people prefer to act on the margin rather than totalize.