EA Forum Podcast (All audio)

This is a link post. In a previously unreported letter, the AI company defends its restructuring plan while attacking critics and making surprising admissions This is the full text of a post first published on Obsolete, a Substack that I write about the intersection of capitalism, geopolitics, and artificial intelligence. I’m a freelance journalist and the author of a forthcoming book called Obsolete: Power, Profit, and the Race to Build Machine Superintelligence. Consider subscribing to stay up to date with my work. OpenAI was founded as a counter to the perils of letting profit shape the development of an unprecedentedly powerful technology — one its founders have said could lead to human extinction. But in a newly obtained letter from OpenAI lawyers to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the company reveals what it apparently fears more: anything that slows its ability to raise gargantuan amounts of money. The previously unreported [...] ---Outline:(00:12) In a previously unreported letter, the AI company defends its restructuring plan while attacking critics and making surprising admissions(03:26) Revelations(04:20) The key question(05:45) Competitors and critics(08:34) Employee motivations(10:10) Contestable claims(11:30) Whats left unsaid--- First published: May 17th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/9oF3GmMae2ssYSXwP/what-openai-told-california-s-attorney-general Linkpost URL:https://www.obsolete.pub/p/exclusive-what-openai-told-californias --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article:Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

This is a link post. One reason to make a lot of money is to get a good spot on the league table of rich people. [...] Being the richest person in the world does seem cooler than being the second-richest person on the world, though I doubt that your consumption basket changes much between those two spots. [...] And so you might imagine that the design of the league tables could motivate behavior. Put another way: Had the Oracle of Omaha held onto his stake through the years, he’d have a net worth of almost $400 billion as of April 30, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That's $67 billion more than the fortune of Elon Musk, the world's richest person. Charity-adjusted billionaire rankings! Why not? [...] When you irrevocably donate your stock to charity, you no longer own it in any legal or practical or economic sense, but [...] --- First published: May 16th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/Gx9w3gLHoK2PHB7T6/money-stuff-on-charity-adjusted-billionaire-rankings Linkpost URL:https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/newsletters/2025-05-15/coinbase-got-hacked-a-little --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

This influential paper purported to show that AI greatly increased innovation. MIT has asked for it to be retracted. There are some dodgy signals, like the student in question apparently registering a domain name associated with a firm, which then complained to WIPO about it. It could still be the case that AI greatly increases innovation, but, currently I wouldn't trust this paper. --- First published: May 16th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/XdeZgsRCnvvrhTCHv/alert-on-the-toner-rodgers-paper --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

During our recent team retreat, the CEA Online Team discussed the state of our various projects, what potential new projects we could spend our capacity on, and what data and M&E we could use to determine how to prioritize our time. As part of our discussion about the state of the EA Forum, we considered a few ways we could run it at a lower cost. I thought others might be interested so I'm sharing a version here. I'd be curious to hear where people agree or disagree. Note that this was primarily an exercise, and did not lead to us deciding to change our Forum strategy. However, we are currently evaluating how the Online Team will fit into CEA in the longer term, which may result in us prioritizing other projects over the EA Forum. I think "no new engineering work" is plausible given our small capacity, and [...] ---Outline:(01:03) No new engineering work(02:03) My take(02:51) A bulletin board(06:53) My take(07:10) Shut down the EA Forum and use the r/EffectiveAltruism subreddit(09:57) My take(10:26) Appendix: What does the Online Team do?--- First published: May 16th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/bZ4GAcc5kvgCvFwXs/three-lower-cost-options-for-running-the-ea-forum --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article:Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Thanks to Jeff, Max Taylor, Joanna Michalska, Albert Didriksen and Koen van Pelt for feedback on this post. All mistakes are my own. This post does not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.AI development is happening fast and the implications could be numerous and fundamentally transformative for the animal movement. There is a lot to be won, but a lot at risk as well.[1] But I don’t think one needs to be convinced of short AGI timelines to pay close attention to what is going on in AI. You just have to be convinced that as a movement, we are (a) dramatically under-invested in AI for animals, given the likelihood of things changing quite radically, (b) under-prepared for how things may change eventually (whether this is in 3 years or 30) and/or (c) that there is little to lose by thinking ambitiously about, and safeguarding against, the [...] ---Outline:(01:14) Whats the problem?(03:05) What are asymmetries?(07:32) An alternative way of framing(08:32) ConclusionThe original text contained 6 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: May 16th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/orzo8tQfGJuhpWYzA/asymmetries-ai-and-animal-advocacy --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

We just published an interview: Emergency pod: Don't believe OpenAI's "nonprofit" spin (with Tyler Whitmer). Listen on Spotify, watch on Youtube, or click through for other audio options, the transcript, and related links. Episode summary There's memes out there in the press that this was a big shift. I don’t think [that's] the right way to be thinking about this situation… You’re taking the attorneys general out of their oversight position and replacing them with shareholders who may or may not have any power. … There's still a lot of work to be done — and I think that work needs to be done by the board, and it needs to be done by the AGs, and it needs to be done by the public advocates. — Tyler Whitmer OpenAI's recent announcement that its nonprofit would “retain control” of its for-profit business sounds reassuring. But this seemingly major [...] --- First published: May 15th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/iJPFbNe8PZZfWABsB/emergency-pod-don-t-believe-openai-s-nonprofit-spin-with --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

This is a modified version of a similar announcement on LessWrong, where the same service exists. At the bottom of the EA Forum post editor, if you have at least 200 global karma, you may have noticed this button. Occasionally, someone clicks the button, and is jumpscared when it starts an Intercom chat with a professional editor (me), asking what sort of feedback they'd like. So, that's what it does. It's a summon Justis button. Once you request feedback, please either share the draft with me directly in the EA Forum draft editor (my EA Forum username is Justis), or, if you prefer, link me to the draft in a Google doc. Why summon Justis? To get feedback on your post, of just about any sort. Typo fixes, grammar checks, sanity checks, clarity checks, fit for the EA Forum, the works. I aim to provide feedback within about a [...] ---Outline:(01:00) Why summon Justis?(01:26) Why Justis in particular?(01:55) Am I doing it right?(02:00) How often can I request feedback?(02:15) Can I use the feature for linkposts/crossposts?(02:28) What if I click the button by mistake?(02:38) Should I credit you?(02:54) Couldnt I just use an LLM?(03:25) Is Justis paid?--- First published: May 15th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/jsn75N7qYm29P2Jya/psa-ea-forum-feedback-service --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article:Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Executive Summary Problem: 70% of 10-year-olds in Low-and-Middle Income Countries can’t read. In India, foundational literacy remains critically low, especially in Hindi-speaking regions. Intervention: An AI-powered app based on a proven pedagogy, which achieved +0.4 SD learning gains (equivalent to ~2 years of business as usual schooling) in 45-day RCTs involving thousands of government school students, using paper books. The app will guide 15-minute daily home sessions via parents' smartphones. Cost-effectiveness: Estimated $5 per person annual income doubling (Charity Entrepreneurship's bar: $30 or less), with an overall benefit-cost ratio of ~200:1. Ask: We’re seeking feedback on our cost-effectiveness model and scaling plan, as well as introductions to contacts at Google, for potential integration with their ReadAlong app.   🔗 Links to project materials (these are open access, so please leave comments): Detailed report (2 hour read) Pitch deck (20 minute read) Cost-effectiveness spreadsheet Literature review of Ed-Tech in developing countries Demo video of app prototype (2 [...] ---Outline:(00:10) Executive Summary(01:36) The Case for AI teaching Foundational Hindi Literacy(04:46) Importance Tractability Neglectedness Framework(04:51) Importance(05:17) Neglectedness(05:58) Tractability(07:06) How does the app actually work?(07:38) Scaling Plan(08:17) Cost-Effectiveness Model(09:38) My biggest doubts(11:23) Next Steps and Asks(12:08) Acknowledgements--- First published: May 15th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/2pyruWZN3LiWJPbHk/teaching-hindi-literacy-with-an-ai-tutor --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article:Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Profit for Good Conference — 11 June 2025 (livestream) Peter Singer and the School for Moral Ambition are hosting the first Profit for Good conference on Wednesday 11 June. Speakers include Peter Singer, Rutger Bregman, Humanitix co-founder Adam McCurdie, Newman's Own Foundation CEO Alex Amouyel, BRAC CEO Asif Saleh, and others building companies that commit most or all profits to charity. Programme & details: see agenda / register for the free “pay-what-you-want” livestream here → [conference link] Want to attend in person (Amsterdam)? Capacity is limited; priority is for founders, senior owners, and philanthropy / business leaders who can act on the model. If that's you, DM me and I’ll share the private registration link. Hope to see many of you online! --- First published: May 14th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/ExBMZgW8nr8kt3BPB/peter-singer-and-rutger-bregman-present-the-profit-for-good --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.