EA Forum Podcast (All audio)

This is a link post. Kenny Torrella at Vox has written a nice piece on demand-side interventions to reduce meat consumption, and what we might lose if we focus entirely on producers and politics (supply-side interventions). The article focuses on the results of a very nice preprint about the effects of watching Dominion (Kramer and Landry 2025) and also covers a meta-analysis I worked on, and previously summarized on the forum. I am quoted in the article, and I very much believe this: “I think that persuasion is a beautiful thing where we try to convince people using reason and argument, and take them seriously” as moral agents, he said. “I do not want to give up on this.” Read the full article here: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/417717/meat-reduction-vegetarian-research. --- First published: June 26th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/fCcTNzFJZZdvimooD/linkpost-is-it-even-possible-to-convince-people-to-stop Linkpost URL:https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/417717/meat-reduction-vegetarian-research --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Crossposted from my Substack. @titotal recently posted an in-depth critique of AI 2027. I'm a fan of his work, and this post was, as expected, phenomenal*. Much of the critique targets the unjustified weirdness of the superexponential time horizon growth curve that underpins the AI 2027 forecast. During my own quick excursion into the Timelines simulation code, I set the probability of superexponential growth to ~0 because, yeah, it seemed pretty sus. But I didn’t catch (or write about) the full extent of its weirdness, nor did I identify a bunch of other issues titotal outlines in detail. For example: The AI 2027 authors assign ~40% probability to a “superexponential” time horizon growth curve that shoots to infinity in a few years, regardless of your starting point. The RE-Bench logistic curve (major part of their second methodology) is never actually used during the simulation. As a result [...] ---Outline:(02:50) Robust Planning: The People Doing Nothing(06:06) Inaction is a Bet Too(07:21) The Difficulty of Robust Planning in Governance(08:52) Corner Solutions & Why Flawed Models Still Matter(10:15) Conclusion: Forecasting's Catch-22--- First published: June 25th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/fKx6DkWfzJXoycWhE/the-practical-value-of-flawed-models-a-response-to-titotal-s --- 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. A hidden crisis Literally, quintillions1 of animals are suffering and dying right now in the wild, due to disease, hunger, thirst, excessive heat or cold, and other factors. Yet, most people—including those who express concern for animals—fail to give importance to this issue. Why? In this article, we explore the cognitive biases2 that lead us to ignore one of the world's largest sources of suffering and death.3 Understanding these biases can help us think more clearly about our moral responsibilities. The magnitude of the problem When we think of animal suffering, we often picture factory farms or labs that test on animals. These are indeed serious problems. But the number of wild animals is vastly larger, estimated between 1 and 10 quintillion at any given time.4 To understand this, consider the following analogy: If we compressed the total number of animals exploited by humans and [...] ---Outline:(00:15) A hidden crisis(00:50) The magnitude of the problem(01:57) Status quo bias: Resistance to changing beliefs(02:43) Neglect of small animals(03:37) Compassion Fade / The loss of compassion effect(04:29) Scope neglect(05:06) Availability heuristic(05:45) Survivorship bias(06:34) False deduction: Since humans harm, nature helps(07:04) Idyllic view of nature(08:01) Tendency to justify natural suffering(08:59) Double standard regarding acts and omissions(09:38) Proportion bias(10:26) Short-term bias(11:11) The bubble effect (false consensus)(12:10) No one cares often means I don't want them to care(12:43) Reducing the influence of bias(14:09) Notes--- First published: June 25th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/KL7mvCWgJqTeAtqJo/why-we-ignore-the-suffering-of-wild-animals-understanding Linkpost URL:https://www.animal-ethics.org/why-we-ignore-the-suffering-of-wild-animals-understanding-our-biases/ --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

1 Introduction (Crossposted from my blog--formatting is better there). Very large numbers of people seem to think that climate change is likely to end the world. Biden and Harris both called it an existential threat. AOC warned a few years ago that “the world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.” Thunberg once approvingly cited a supposed “top climate scientist” making the claim that “climate change will wipe out humanity unless we stop using fossil fuels over the next five years.” Around half of Americans think that climate change will destroy the planet (though despite this, most don’t consider it a top political issue, which means that a sizeable portion of the population thinks climate change will destroy the planet, but doesn’t think that means we should prioritize it over taxes and healthcare). I was taught by my science teacher in ninth [...] ---Outline:(00:13) 1 Introduction(04:36) 2 How much warming will there be?(07:33) 3 How past warming periods have gone(11:25) 4 Agriculture(14:42) 5 Ecosystem collapse and threats to agriculture(20:57) 6 Heat stress and sea level rise(22:51) 7 Tipping points(28:26) 8 Economic costs(31:06) 9 Migration(33:43) 10 Conflict(40:03) 11 Conclusion--- First published: June 25th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/rcojG8aZhDjFfBBfZ/summary-of-john-halstead-s-book-length-report-on-existential --- 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.

Summary I've recently completed a 7 week series on global development, I thought it would be useful to share each week on the forum as well in case people missed the announcement post. The aim is to give people a more comprehensive overview of the global development landscape, either for those considering working/donating in this area, or if you are already in development but want to consider switching focus. It seemed to me that resources in development & EA spaces were narrowly focused, with an emphasis on RCT backed healthcare interventions via non profits and I'm hoping to give people a broader understanding, so they can make more informed decisions on where to allocate their resources. Here is a list of the different areas covered: A history of global development Evidence-based interventions, RCTs & Global Health Democracy, Institutions and Government Economic growth The Private Sector Innovation & Metascience [...] ---Outline:(00:10) Summary(01:33) The Last 200 Years in Data(03:13) Transformative Areas for Welfare(03:42) Industrial Revolution(04:54) Vaccines & Public Health(06:55) Agricultural Transformation(07:32) Energy(08:45) Education(09:53) Democracy and Rights(11:22) Scientific Advancement(13:10) Global Governance(13:13) Institutions(16:16) Evidence & Resources in Development(16:20) Randomised Controlled Trials & Impact Evaluation(17:47) Foreign Aid(19:15) Remittances(20:40) Economic Engines of Development(20:44) Government Revenue & Spending(23:02) The Private Sector--- First published: June 24th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/eme7XzHFsxWCSZXoF/a-history-of-global-development --- 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.

As more people turn to AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity to answer their questions, an opportunity to go beyond traditional communication efforts like SEO arises. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) refers to the practice of structuring content so it can be accurately retrieved and cited by large language models (LLMs). For EA-aligned organizations, AEO could be more than a communications tactic, as it could be an opportunity to strengthen program impact, improve fundraising efficiency, and ensure that evidence-based ideas surface in critical public discourse. This post outlines why AEO matters, how it works, and what practical steps organizations can take to begin integrating AEO, even with limited resources. AI Chatbots Are Changing How People Search Most effective organizations aim to influence how people think, give, and act based on rigorous research and thoughtful prioritization. But in today's digital landscape, how people seek information has changed dramatically. Search [...] ---Outline:(00:57) AI Chatbots Are Changing How People Search(02:04) AEO Is Like SEO for AI Conversations(03:44) AEO Can Help Effective Organizations Amplify Their Impact(05:05) Simple Steps to Start Optimizing for AI(08:42) Risks to Keep in Mind and Tradeoffs(09:24) Looking Ahead(09:55) Call for Collaboration(10:33) Sources and Further Reading--- First published: June 24th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/6Mos9jukfPzFQPWkm/the-need-to-optimize-ea-content-to-show-up-in-ai-chats --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

In alphabetical order: Ben Smith, @Karen Singleton, @Lin BL, Rebecca Zanini,, @Swan 🔸 , @Ulf Graf 🔹 Acknowledgements: Rosanna Zimdahl, Ruben Dieleman, Samuel Hilton and Simon Holm. Preface/TL;DR  We believe systems thinking offers valuable tools for identifying more impactful interventions. This post aims to help you: Understand systems thinking and systems change and advocate for their value to EA. Apply systems thinking to your cause area to identify more impactful interventions. Find relevant resources to deepen your knowledge in areas that interest you. The most up-to-date version of this post can be found on this website. Introduction  Advocates push for improved conditions in factory farms, yet industrial animal agriculture persists. Direct cash transfers are distributed to alleviate poverty, yet billions remain ensnared in its grip. Life-saving malaria nets are funded to protect children from deadly disease, yet preventable illnesses still claim millions of lives [...] ---Outline:(00:28) Preface/TL;DR(01:01) Introduction(04:09) What is systems change?(04:13) Understanding systems(07:27) Why Systems Change Matters(09:23) Common System Behaviours(11:12) Common System Archetypes(12:02) Finding Leverage Points(13:53) How do you apply systems change?(14:06) Principles for Effective Systems Change(15:49) Applying Systems Change to Different Cause Areas(16:06) Concrete examples in a typical EA cause area (alphabetically)(16:13) AI safety & governance(17:27) Animal Welfare: Factory farming(20:41) Biosecurity(23:41) Climate Change(25:18) Global Health and Development (GHD)(27:16) Great power conflict(28:06) Other(28:41) Causes not in scope(28:56) Solutions and learnings from one area can maybe be used in another(30:55) Failures in one area don't necessarily mean failure in another(33:16) Next Steps & Call To Action(34:05) If You Only Have 30 Minutes(35:08) If You Have a Few Hours(35:12) Systems Thinking for EA Foundations(36:34) Thinking Systemically: Books on Complexity, Change and Resilience(38:52) Systems Change for Animal, Health and Ecological Welfare(42:00) Complexity, Risk, and Uncertainty(43:06) EA-Specific Reflections on Systems Change(44:08) Ongoing Learning, Blogs, Podcasts & Communities: Deepen Your Practice(46:32) Bonus: Depth / Fringe / Niche--- First published: June 23rd, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/bwZ6HqRSjYh5DS99r/systems-change-101 --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Is Morality ObjectivePlace your vote or view results.disagreeagree There is dispute among EAs--and the general public more broadly--about whether morality is objective. So I thought I'd kick off a [...] --- First published: June 24th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/n5bePqoC46pGZJzqL/morality-is-objective --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

As part of conducting research into my Tactics in Practice series (reports designed to understand the impact and potential improvements to common interventions to improve animal welfare), I am often a bit let down by what the research says. After reviewing the evidence behind vegan and meat-reduction challenges and pledges, I have to say I am more optimistic about this tactic than I was before investigating it. I believe they have the potential to shift collective diet change more than most people think. Read the Full Resource To my knowledge, this is the first meta-analytic resource on the topic, combining both public studies, internal data, and gray literature, so I think the results are super important for anyone thinking about this intervention. In the data I examined (which includes some non-public data), Vegan challenges have a retention rate between 10 and 28%. (Keep in mind, this is [...] --- First published: June 23rd, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/gz4dsc8GyPBBbLkMf/vegan-challenges-are-an-underrated-lever-for-diet-change --- 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.

Crosspost of this blog article. The majority of farmed animals killed each year are insects, and this number is only expected to increase. By 2033, it's estimated that around 5 trillion insects will be slaughtered annually—more than 50 times the number of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and the like currently slaughtered. But insect farming is built on a dark secret: its foundational premises are all lies! There has been a calculated plot by the insect farming industry to mislead the public. They know that if the public knew the truth about them, they’d never support subsidizing them. The insect farms can only thrive in darkness—shielded from public scrutiny. Insect farming was promised as an environmentally-friendly alternative to meat. In reality, however, there's virtually no consumer market for insects, so the insect farming industry mostly feeds insects to farmed animals like chickens and fish. Insect farming is not a [...] --- First published: June 23rd, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/ekqBRzREhxkDrGLz9/the-lies-of-big-bug --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.