EA Talks

In a world now painfully aware of pandemics, with ever-increasing access to autonomous biological agents, how can we help channel society’s response to COVID-19 to minimize the risk of deliberate misuse? Using the challenge of securing DNA synthesis as an example, Kevin outlines the key norms and incentives governing biotechnology, lays out potential strategies for reform, and suggests ways in which thoughtful individuals might help safely and credibly discuss and mitigate biorisks without spreading information hazards.http://www.sculptingevolution.orgOriginal VideoEffective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

The EA Forum is the best place to share a message where the EA community will see it. And there’s a very good chance that you have a message worth sharing! Aaron discusses common features of excellent Forum posts and runs a brainstorming session where participants submit post ideas to get live feedback.A companion document for the presentation, which contains additional resources, is available here.Original VideoEffective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

Baobao Zhang explains how social science research can help those in governments, tech companies, and advocacy organizations make decisions regarding AI governance. After explaining her research on public attitudes toward AI and automation, she explores other important topics of research. She also reflects on how researchers could make broad impacts outside of academia.Recommended reading:https://governanceai.github.io/US-Public-Opinion-Report-Jan-2019Public opinion lessons for AI regulationClick to access GovAI-Agenda.pdfOriginal VideoEffective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

In this talk, Jamie Harris introduces some key concepts involved in planning your career so that you can maximize your impact for animals.Original VideoEffective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

In this talk, which is based on a collaboration with John Halstead, Hauke makes the case against randomista development, a form of development economics which evaluates and promotes interventions that can be tested by randomised controlled trials. He argues that research on and advocacy for economic growth in low-income countries is more effective than randomista development interventions, and that assessing the soundness of these arguments should be a key focus for current generation-focused EAs over the next few years.Hauke and John’s Forum post:https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/bsE5t6qhGC65fEpzN/growth-and-the-case-against-randomista-developmentOriginal VideoEffective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

Why is EA not more demographically diverse? Why does it matter? What can we do?Original VideoEffective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

Political institutions, such as governments and international organizations, are instrumental in designing large-scale coordination mechanisms and collective action. However, political decision-making is difficult to both achieve and optimise for many reasons. Examples include their collective nature, their high stakes, the complexity of policy problems and slow feedback loops to learn from implementation. The support and improvement of political decision-making could, therefore, be highly impactful. The ultimate question is: what works? This talk delves into the impact, evidence and implementability of four popular strategies to strengthen political decision-making and delineates recommendations for further work.Original VideoEffective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

Following a rigorous selection process, we’re pleased to present the following five-minute lightning talks.Cecilia TilliAntimicrobial resistance: A cause that joins global health and development with longtermism and biosecurity?Noga AharonyAiming towards a biosecurity career from grad schoolJennifer-Justine KirschThe next frontier: Lessons learned from an EA fish startupSid EfromovichIntroducing Generation PledgeMichael AirdWhy we need a database of existential risk estimatesJessica McCurdyThe case for virtual cross-university fellowshipsRoy HeadDevelopment Media International and COVID-19Juan Bartolomé García MartínezMicrobial protein as food for the apocalypseJack LewarsOpen a ‘One for the World’ chapter and change the worldFrankie Andersen-WoodI’m not qualified to give this talkJames FodorPitfalls of Bayesian reasoningChloe DempseyCultivated meat: Does the Chinese consumer have an appetite?Original VideoEffective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

This session opens up a conversation about the strengths and limitations of the use of data and evidence for allocating resources to and across priorities within the field of global health and development. Caitlin and Ruth highlight examples where rigorous evidence contributed to high-impact decisions, yielding large benefits. They also address key critiques of the use of evidence, as it has been promoted in the past 15 years, and suggest ways in which the evidence-informed policymaking agenda could evolve.Original VideoEffective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.

In this talk, Johannes presents Founders Pledge’s thinking on effective climate solutions including insights from their latest research. This includes a novel framing of the issue, key conclusions from their recent report on climate and lifestyle, updates on their research on high-impact charities, and more.https://founderspledge.com/stories/climate-and-lifestyle-reportOriginal VideoEffective Altruism is a social movement dedicated to finding ways to do the most good possible, whether through charitable donations, career choices, or volunteer projects. EA Global conferences are gatherings for EAs to meet. You can also listen to this talk along with its accompanying video on YouTube.