130. Effective Altruism, AI, and Sam Bankman-Fried

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The philosophy of Effective Altruism captured the minds and wallets of Silicon Valley's elite - using reason and evidence to maximize positive impact. But is this clinical approach to the world’s problems really possible? And what happens now, after the shocking downfall of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, once a leader of the Effective Altruism community?

In this episode, let’s examine Effective Altruism’s core principles of earning to give, cause prioritization, and longtermism that drew in Bankman-Fried and many tech leaders. Did his professed altruism merely mask grotesque fraud and self-interest? Or was he a true believer whose actions undermined the very ideas he championed?

And more importantly, what can we learn when it comes to our own giving?

Links from today’s episode:

FTX’s Collapse Casts a Pall on ‘Effective Altruism’ Movement - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/13/business/ftx-effective-altruism.html

Sam Bankman-Fried, Effective Altruism, and the Question of Complicity | The New Yorker

https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/sam-bankman-fried-effective-altruism-and-the-question-of-complicity

Effective Altruism's Philosopher King Just Wants to Be Practical

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/09/oxford-philosophy-professor-william-macaskill-effective-altruism-interview/671597/

The Most Good You Can Do by Peter Singer | Foundational text on Effective Altruism

https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-most-good-you-can-do-how-effective-altruism-is-changing-ideas-about-living-ethically-peter-singer/8495814?ean=9780300219869

Doing Good Better by William MacAskill | Foundational text on Effective Altruism

https://bookshop.org/p/books/doing-good-better-how-effective-altruism-can-help-you-help-others-do-work-that-matters-and-make-smarter-choices-about-giving-back-william-macaskill/7788582?ean=9781592409662

ICYMI another episode you might enjoy:

Episode#107 Dr. King's Radical Money Beliefs

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