Is Effective Altruism Right? #3: Émile Torres

As we go deeper down the rabbithole of Effective Altruism, it's time to hear from some critical perspectives. Émile Torres, a PhD candidate in philosophy at Leibniz Universität Hannover in Germany and author of the forthcoming 'Human Extinction: A History of the Science and Ethics of Annihilation' (Routledge), has been one of the most prominent critics of an increasingly-popular philosophy within the EA community called 'longtermism,' or the idea that current humans have a responsibility to far-off generations of people yet to be born millions of years into the future or further, and that consequentially, problems facing present humanity may not be as bad as they look if they don't threaten our overall survival as a species.

In our talk with Émile, we discuss their recent salon.com article examining the recent collapse of EA-aligned billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried (AKA SBF) and his crypto exchange FTX in the context of the longtermist philosophy that SBF publicly aligned himself with. Along the way, we talk about the academic discipline of 'eschatology,' or the study of end times, about EA as a philosophy and as a movement, and about the appropriate level of fear that one should have toward so-called 'existential risks.'

Émile can be found on Twitter @xriskology. You can visit their website at https://www.xriskology.com.

Read Émile's recent Salon.com article about Sam Bankman-Fried, FBX, and longtermism here.

Read Émile's Current Affairs piece on longtermism here.

This episode was edited by Dan Thorn (@danieljtvthorn) of Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA, and it features theme music by Danny Bradley. If you liked the podcast, please consider supporting our investigators on our Patreon.