Effective : Philosophy and Practice Vanessa Thompkins “

The mathematical challenge of finding the greatest good can expand the heart. Empathy opens the mind to suffering, and maths keeps it open. ― Derek Thompson, The Greatest Good (The Atlantic, June 15, 2015) How much would you donate?

More than 14 million

people experiencing

starvation in Africa

Rokia

Average : Average donation: $2.50 $1.25 An uncommon idea? What does effective altruism look like?

Philosophy

Effective Altruism

Social Research movement field Philosophy

Effective Altruism

Social Research movement field Key principles

Egalitarianism Cause neutrality ◎ Epistemic humility ◎ ◎ Key principle: egalitarianism

The belief that all people are equal and deserve equal treatment and opportunities ◎ Key principle: egalitarianism Key principle: egalitarianism Key principle: egalitarianism “

I don’t think that we should discount the suffering of a being because of its species (any more than we should discount the suffering of a human because of its race, sex, IQ, etc.). The principle of equal consideration of interests, which I defend, is simply that we should give similar importance to similar interests. ― Key principle: egalitarianism

2019 3019 4019 5019 6019 Key principle: egalitarianism Key principle: cause neutrality

Cause: a particular problem in the world; a focus area for altruistic activities ◎ Key principle: cause neutrality

Cause neutrality: choosing which cause to focus on based on where you can do the most good ◎ ? Key principle: epistemic humility

Everything we think we know about doing good most effectively could be wrong ◎ Philosophy

Effective Altruism Social Research movement field Main research questions

Which cause area(s) matter the most? In a particular cause area, which interventions are most effective? Main research questions

Which cause area(s) matter the most? In a particular cause area, which interventions are most effective? Cause prioritization: how can we choose between different causes?

Scale Neglectedness Tractability Cause area: global

Scale: around 10% of people live in extreme poverty ◎ Neglectedness: subject of much public awareness and ◎ funding Tractability: many interventions have been ◎ shown to be effective in decreasing poverty Cause area:

Scale: around 60 billion animals are farmed for food ◎ each year Neglectedness: animal charities receive a very low ◎ proportion of Tractability: advocacy campaigns seem to be ◎ effective Cause area: global catastrophic risks

Scale: potential to significantly alter the future of humanity ◎ Neglectedness: very few researchers working in this ◎ area Tractability: research has a low probability of success ◎ Main research questions

Which cause area(s) matter the most? In a particular cause area, which interventions are most effective? Global poverty interventions

Against ○ Provide insecticide-treated ◎ bednets ○ Cost to save a life: $3000 Deworm the World ○ Support government-run ◎ deworming programs ○ Cost to save a child under 5: $1000 More: .org

◎ Animal welfare interventions

The Humane League ○ Advocate for farmed animals ◎ ○ Animals saved per $1000 donation: 6000 – 13000 ○ Development of alternatives to ◎ animal products ○ Animals saved per $1000 donation: unknown More: animalcharityevaluators.org ◎ interventions

Long-Term Future Fund ○ Provide grants to organisations ◎ seeking to reduce global catastrophic risks Research organisations ○ Research global catastrophic risks ◎ and how to reduce them ○ Examples: Future of Humanity Institute, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, Machine Intelligence Research Institute Philosophy

Effective Altruism

Social Research movement field

Resource allocation

Time Money Skills Energy Time • Volunteering for an EA outreach organisation • Volunteering for an effective

Upskilling • Learning new skills that are needed by the EA movement Money Donating effectively • Researching, and directing donations to, highly effective charities • Donating to research organisations

Earning to give • Choosing a career with high earning potential • Donating a large proportion of income to highly effective charities • Taking the pledge Skills Research • Working for effective altruism research organisations

Communication • Finding better ways to communicate effective altruism • Telling others about effective altruism

Many others! • Operations, social media, graphic design, movement building, … Energy Philosophy

Effective Altruism Social Research movement field Effective altruism: an opportunity “

All this fancy ethics and decision science stuff is actually about the unexpected possibility of all of us to become superheroes. Think about it, who would have thought that it's within the power of all of us to actually save hundreds or even thousands of lives just by making better, more rational everyday decisions? ― Adriano Mannino Resources used for this talk

Images: https://www.iconfinder.com Slide theme: https://www.slidescarnival.com ◎ ◎ Further information

Learn more about effective altruism: https://www.effectivealtruism.org/ ◎ Find highly effective charities to donate to: https://www.givewell.org/ ◎ Make tax-deductable donations to highly effective charities: https://effectivealtruism.org.au/ ◎ Discover career paths which can help you do good: https://80000hours.org/ ◎ Get involved with effective altruism locally: https://www.facebook.com/effectivealtruismmelbourne/, or email ◎ [email protected]