Global issues beyond 80,000 Hours’ current priorities (Article)

Aug 28, 2020

Delve into lesser-known global issues that could use more attention from the effective altruism community. Discover the vital role of global governance in managing risks linked to emerging technologies and the need for reforms. Explore reflections on protecting liberal democracies and the potential of technology to enhance political dialogue. Uncover complexities in long-term philanthropy that promise sustainable impact. Finally, examine overlooked climate change risks and their health implications, urging further investigation into these pressing topics.

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ADVICE

80,000 Hours User Survey

Take the 80,000 Hours annual user survey to provide feedback.
Your feedback helps shape future programs and content.

INSIGHT

Beyond Top Priorities

Exploring diverse global issues is crucial, even beyond top priorities.
Individual talents and the value of diversified efforts matter.

ADVICE

Ideal Pioneers

Pioneering new problem areas requires creativity and critical thinking.
Individuals should be self-motivated and willing to explore less-charted territories.

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Today’s release is the latest in our series of audio versions of our articles.

In this one, we go through 30 global issues beyond the ones we usually prioritize most highly in our work, and that you might consider focusing your career on tackling.

Although we spend the majority of our time at 80,000 Hours on our highest priority problem areas, and we recommend working on them to many of our readers, these are just the most promising issues among those we’ve spent time investigating. There are many other global issues that we haven’t properly investigated, and which might be very promising for more people to work on.

In fact, we think working on some of the issues in this article could be as high-impact for some people as working on our priority problem areas — though we haven’t looked into them enough to be confident.

If you want to check out the links in today’s article, you can find those here.

Our annual user survey is also now open for submissions.

Once a year for two weeks we ask all of you, our podcast listeners, article readers, advice receivers, and so on, so let us know how we've helped or hurt you.

80,000 Hours now offers many different services, and your feedback helps us figure out which programs to keep, which to cut, and which to expand.

This year we have a new section covering the podcast, asking what kinds of episodes you liked the most and want to see more of, what extra resources you use, and some other questions too.

We're always especially interested to hear ways that our work has influenced what you plan to do with your life or career, whether that impact was positive, neutral, or negative.

That might be a different focus in your existing job, or a decision to study something different or look for a new job. Alternatively, maybe you're now planning to volunteer somewhere, or donate more, or donate to a different organisation.

Your responses to the survey will be carefully read as part of our upcoming annual review, and we'll use them to help decide what 80,000 Hours should do differently next year.

So please do take a moment to fill out the user survey.

You can find it at 80000hours.org/survey

Get this episode by subscribing: type 80,000 Hours into your podcasting app. Or read the linked transcript.

Producer: Keiran Harris.
Audio mastering: Ben Cordell.
Transcriptions: Zakee Ulhaq.