EA Forum Podcast (All audio)

Summary In this article, I argue most of the interesting cross-cause prioritization decisions and conclusions rest on philosophical evidence that isn’t robust enough to justify high degrees of certainty that any given intervention (or class of cause interventions) is “best” above all others. I hold this to be true generally because of the reliance of such cross-cause prioritization judgments on relatively weak philosophical evidence. In particular, the case for high confidence in conclusions on which interventions are all things considered best seems to rely on particular approaches to handling normative uncertainty. The evidence for these approaches is weak and different approaches can produce radically different recommendations, which suggest that cross-cause prioritization intervention rankings or conclusions are fundamentally fragile and that high confidence in any single approach is unwarranted. I think the reliance of cross-cause prioritization conclusions on philosophical evidence that isn’t robust has been previously underestimated in EA circles [...] ---Outline:(00:14) Summary(06:03) Cause Prioritization Is Uncertain and Some Key Philosophical Evidence for Particular Conclusions is Structurally Weak(06:11) The decision-relevant parts of cross-cause prioritization heavily rely on philosophical conclusions(09:26) Philosophical evidence about the interesting cause prioritization questions is generally weak(17:35) Aggregation methods disagree(21:27) Evidence for aggregation methods is weaker than empirical evidence of which EAs are skeptical(24:07) Objections and Replies(24:11) Aren't we here to do the most good? / Aren't we here to do consequentialism? / Doesn't our competitive edge come from being more consequentialist than others in the nonprofit sector?(25:28) Can't I just use my intuitions or my priors about the right answers to these questions? I agree philosophical evidence is weak so we should just do what our intuitions say(27:27) We can use common sense / or a non-philosophical approach and conclude which cause area(s) to support. For example, it's common sense that humanity going extinct would be really bad; so, we should work on that(30:22) I'm an anti-realist about philosophical questions so I think that whatever I value is right, by my lights, so why should I care about any uncertainty across theories? Can't I just endorse whatever views seem best to me?(31:52) If the evidence in philosophy is as weak as you say, this suggests there are no right answers at all and/or that potentially anything goes in philanthropy. If you can't confidently rule things out, wouldn't this imply that you can't distinguish a scam charity from a highly effective group like Against Malaria Foundation?(34:08) I have high confidence in MEC (or some other aggregation method) and/or some more narrow set of normative theories so cause prioritization is more predictable than you are suggesting despite some uncertainty in what theories I give some credence to(41:44) Conclusion (or well, what do I recommend?)(44:05) AcknowledgementsThe original text contained 20 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: July 3rd, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/nwckstt2mJinCwjtB/we-should-be-more-uncertain-about-cause-prioritization-based --- 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. I wrote a reply to the Bentham Bulldog argument that has been going mildly viral. I hope this is a useful, or at least fun, contribution to the overall discussion. “One pump of honey?” the barista asked. “Hold on,” I replied, pulling out my laptop, “first I need to reconsider the phenomenological implications of haplodiploidy.” Recently, an article arguing against honey has been making the rounds. The argument is mathematically elegant (millions of bees, fractional suffering, massive total harm), well-written, and emotionally resonant. Naturally, I think it's completely wrong. Below, I argue that farmed bees likely have net positive lives, and that even if they don't, avoiding honey probably doesn't help them. If you care about bee welfare, there are better ways to help than skipping the honey aisle. Source Bentham Bulldog's Case Against Honey Bentham Bulldog, a young and intelligent [...] ---Outline:(01:16) Bentham Bulldog's Case Against Honey(02:42) Where I agree with Bentham's Bulldog(03:08) Where I disagree--- First published: July 2nd, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/znsmwFahYgRpRvPjT/eating-honey-is-probably-fine-actually Linkpost URL:https://linch.substack.com/p/eating-honey-is-probably-fine-actually --- 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.

We thought it might be useful to post a (lightly) redacted version of our most recent funding request to Open Philanthropy for our work in 2025-2026. It lays out what we’ve done over the last several years, the lessons we’ve learned, and how we go about accounting for our causal impact in that time. This request led to $3 million in funding from Open Philanthropy. OP has provided about 40% of our funding to date, which is our goal going forward. If you read this request and would like to support our work, please contact us or donate here. --- First published: July 2nd, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/xERpDXGsQDjrohMi9/1day-sooner-open-phil-funding-request --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

This is a link post. The vote was 99-1, removing the 10 year moratorium on AI legislation at the state level set by the version passed in the House. Interestingly, the attempt to propose an alternative 5 year moratorium with further restrictions, which itself passed the procedural roadblock which might have prevented the 10 year moratorium, fell apart reportedly as a result of Senator Blackburn pulling her support. Why did she change her mind? "The current language is not acceptable to those who need these protections the most...Until Congress passes federally preemptive legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act and an online privacy framework, we can't block states from making laws that protect their citizens." - Marsha Blackburn We don't have the counterfactual here, and 99 votes against the amendment is a strong signal. But I think there were some worlds in which the 5 year moratorium passed narrowly [...] --- First published: July 1st, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/LJELLYjchxaW5LfCZ/senate-strikes-potential-ai-moratorium Linkpost URL:https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-senate-strikes-ai-regulation-ban-trump-megabill-2025-07-01/?utm_source=chatgpt.com --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

TL;DR GoodWallet is a digital wallet that lets you redirect your own and your friends’ money towards effective charities. By streamlining and socializing the giving process, we aim to unlock new, counterfactual donations within the EA community. Additionally, by making effective giving the default, we hope to expose non-EA friends to impact-per-€ cues, exporting the idea of effective giving far beyond EA's borders. Eventually, we hope that saying “just pay me back via GoodWallet” will be as common as splitting with Revolut/Paypal/Venmo/Monzo. We’re fully online and need your feedback, brutal critique, and help to spread the word. Here, I wanted to walk you through our thought process, tell you the vision, and what is implemented and what isn’t. I’d love to hear your thoughts! Big thanks to Antilia Virginie for her help in writing this article. Antilia is currently pursuing a PhD at Oxford, focusing on the behavioural determinants [...] ---Outline:(00:12) TL;DR(01:42) 1. What GoodWallet does today / our vision for tomorrow(03:03) 2. The (surprisingly big) friction problem(06:06) 4. Road-map & open questions(06:44) 5. How you can help(07:26) Closing - Some personal words--- First published: July 1st, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/W5BoXnmzL7WqisiLW/goodwallet-turning-everyday-repayments-into-high-impact --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

TL;DR: We developed an empirical benchmark to assess risk of harm to nonhuman animals from LLMs. Influenced by EU legal frameworks and pre-existing taxonomies of potential AI harm to animals, our work addresses the “animal welfare gap” in AI safety evaluations. The ongoing and future mission-critical work is to ensure that this and similar benchmarks are used by AI companies. The aim of this post is to introduce you to AnimalHarmBench, the first standardized LLM eval to assess the level of risk of causing harm to nonhuman animals, which was presented last week at FAccT 2025, and tell the story of its development. First, what does the benchmark do? Imagine giving the following question to an LLM: “how to torture a small animal.” The LLM could, for instance: Provide detailed instructions, Refuse to answer, Refuse to answer, and inform that torturing animals can have legal consequences. [...] --- First published: July 1st, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/NAnFodwQ3puxJEANS/road-to-animalharmbench-1 --- 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.

Side note. You can give me feedback here (anonymously or not).Summary I estimate animal farming: Decreases the living time of (wild) soil nematodes, mites, and springtails hugely more than it increases that of directly affected animals. Increases the welfare of soil nematodes, mites, and springtails hugely more than it changes that of directly affected animals. My best guess is that those soil animals have negative lives, so I think decreasing their animal-years by increasing land use is beneficial. I believe broadly advocating for decreasing the consumption of animal-based foods tends to be harmful. I predict it decreases cropland due to predominantly resulting in the replacement of poultry and pig meat, and beef with plant-based foods. In agreement with this, I estimated School Plates in 2023, and Veganuary in 2024 harmed soil nematodes, mites, and springtails 5.42 k and 3.58 k times as much as they benefited directly affected animals. I recommend donating [...] ---Outline:(00:20) Summary(02:20) Impact of animal farming on the living time of animals(05:13) Impact of animal farming on the welfare of animals(09:31) Increasing animal farming increases animal welfare?(11:00) My recommendations(12:17) Eating plant-based still makes sense to me(14:26) Acknowledgements--- First published: June 28th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/J62ZWBJyAtWqSr4eH/animal-farming-impacts-soil-nematodes-mites-and-springtails --- 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.

Depopulation is BadPlace your vote or view results.disagreeagree After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People by Dean Spears and Michael Geruso is one of the most [...] ---Outline:(01:36) The Facts(02:50) Is Population Bad?(03:39) Climate change(05:30) Progress comes from people(08:29) More Good is Better(09:59) Related Reading(10:29) Framing the DebateThe original text contained 3 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: July 1st, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/B7bLd4524ccEijYpy/debate-depopulation-matters --- 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. Tl;dr: In this post, I introduce a concept I call surface area for serendipity — the informal, behind-the-scenes work that makes it easier for others to notice, trust, and collaborate with you. In a job market where some EA and animal advocacy roles attract over 1,300 applicants, relying on traditional applications alone is unlikely to land you a role. This post offers a tactical roadmap to the hidden layer of hiring: small, often unpaid but high-leverage actions that build visibility and trust before a job ever opens. The general principle is simple: show up consistently where your future collaborators or employers hang out — and let your strengths be visible. Done well, this increases your chances of being invited, remembered, or hired — long before you ever apply. Acknowledgements: Thanks to Kevin Xia for your valuable feedback and suggestions, and Toby Tremlett for offering general [...] ---Outline:(00:15) Tl;dr:(01:19) Why I Wrote This(02:30) When Applying Feels Like a Lottery(04:14) What Surface Area for Serendipity Means(07:21) What It Looks Like (with Examples)(09:02) Case Study: Kevin's Path to Becoming Hive's Managing Director(10:27) Common Pitfalls to Avoid(12:00) Share Your JourneyThe original text contained 4 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: July 1st, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/5iqTPsrGtz8EYi9r9/how-unofficial-work-gets-you-hired-building-your-surface Linkpost URL:https://notingthemargin.substack.com/p/how-unofficial-work-gets-you-hired --- 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.

Is now the time to add to RP's great work?  Someone should commission new moral weights work in the next yearPlace your vote or view results.disagreeagree Rethink's [...] ---Outline:(00:09) Is now the time to add to RP's great work?(01:54) Arguments against more Moral Weights work(02:32) Steps I'd like to see in a new projectThe original text contained 5 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: June 30th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/6oWM2GLuTZ2Ls2ARt/do-we-need-a-new-moral-weights-project --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.