Ten: Benjamin Todd on the core of effective altruism and how to argue for it

Update: 2021-04-12

Description

Is effective altruism just about donating money to fight poverty? Does it include a moral obligation to give? How do you talk about it to people who've never heard of it?

In this conversation from 2020, Arden Koehler and 80,000 Hours CEO Ben Todd cover a bunch of topics related to effective altruism.

We also have an article on misconceptions about effective altruism – based on Will MacAskill’s paper The Definition of Effective Altruism – and this episode can act as a companion piece.

Full transcript, related links, and summary of this interview

This episode first broadcast on the regular 80,000 Hours Podcast feed on September 21, 2020. Some related episodes include:

• #75 – Michelle Hutchinson on what people most often ask 80,000 Hours
• Benjamin Todd on varieties of longtermism and things 80,000 Hours might be getting wrong (80k team chat #2)
• Benjamin Todd on what the effective altruism community most needs (80k team chat #4)

Series produced by Keiran Harris.

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In Channel

Effective altruism in a nutshell

2021-04-1209:35

One: Holden Karnofsky on times philanthropy transformed the world & Open Phil's plan to do the same

2021-04-1202:36:04

Two: Dr Toby Ord on why the long-term future matters more than anything else & what to do about it

2021-04-1202:10:32

Three: Alexander Berger on improving global health and wellbeing in clear and direct ways

2021-04-1202:53:44

Four: Spencer Greenberg on the scientific approach to solving difficult everyday questions

2021-04-1202:17:12

Five: Prof Will MacAskill on moral uncertainty, utilitarianism & how to avoid being a moral monster

2021-04-1201:52:46

Six: Ajeya Cotra on worldview diversification and how big the future could be

2021-04-1202:56:27

Seven: Prof Tetlock on why accurate forecasting matters for everything, and how you can do it better

2021-04-1202:17:25

Eight: Prof Hilary Greaves on moral cluelessness, population ethics, & harnessing the brainpower of academia to tackle the most important research questions

2021-04-1202:48:33