EA Forum Podcast (Curated & popular)

“I” refers to Zach, the Centre for Effective Altruism's CEO. Oscar is CEA's Chief of Staff. We are grateful to all the CEA staff and community members who have contributed insightful input and feedback (directly and indirectly) during the development of our strategy and over many years. Mistakes are of course our own.Exec summary As one CEA, we are taking a principles-first approach to stewardship of the EA community. During the search for a new CEO, the board and search committee were open to alternative strategic directions, but from the beginning of my tenure, we’ve committed to a strategy under which we will: Operate as one CEA, rather than winding down, breaking up or renaming the organization. Instead of optimizing for each of our team's programs, we’ll be optimizing for EA as a whole. Take a principles-first approach to EA, rather than becoming an AI org or otherwise re-orienting [...] ---Outline:(00:38) Exec summary(04:15) What does stewardship mean for CEA?(06:55) What does CEA's stewardship mean in practice?(08:34) Growing the EA community(14:54) Improving the EA brand(18:20) Diversifying EA funding(21:47) Strengthening CEA(23:38) Why bother?The original text contained 1 footnote which was omitted from this narration. --- First published: March 28th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/QkE35oTsasMn37o7R/stewardship-cea-s-2025-26-strategy-to-reach-and-raise-ea-s-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.

After ~7 years, I am stepping away from being the CEO of AIM and will transition to a board member. My current planned last day is December 1st, giving ample time for a smooth transition. As is true for most times a CEO or co-founder leaves an organization, this is for a pretty large variety of reasons. The biggest three are that: 1) AIM is in a stable place, 2) My counterfactual impact, and 3) My fit for founder vs. CEO roles. You can see more details on each of these in my Substack post. AIM has been one of the most meaningful parts of my life, and that's in no small part due to working with such driven and aligned people. When I first set out to create CE many years ago, I never could have envisioned we'd get to where we are today, and I have [...] --- First published: March 15th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/mh652ZDuqf3Tgh3Cv/joey-aim-transition-announcement --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Note: I am not a malaria expert. This is my best-faith attempt at answering a question that was bothering me, but this field is a large and complex field, and I’ve almost certainly misunderstood something somewhere along the way. Summary While the world made incredible progress in reducing malaria cases from 2000 to 2015, the past 10 years have seen malaria cases stop declining and start rising. I investigated potential reasons behind this increase through reading the existing literature and looking at publicly available data, and I identified three key factors explaining the rise: Population Growth: Africa's population has increased by approximately 75% since 2000. This alone explains most of the increase in absolute case numbers, while cases per capita have remained relatively flat since 2015. Stagnant Funding: After rapid growth starting in 2000, funding for malaria prevention plateaued around 2010. Insecticide Resistance: Mosquitoes have become increasingly resistant [...] ---Outline:(00:25) Summary(02:06) Introduction(04:31) Ok, give me the 1 minute rundown on what malaria is and how we fight it?(05:22) Preventing malaria has historically meant distributing bednets(07:58) There's a lot of good evidence showing that bednets have been effective at preventing malaria(09:07) The percent of people with access to bednets and the percent of people sleeping under bednets have both stayed constant or increased since 2015(10:47) So what did cause the increase in malaria cases since 2015?(11:54) Factor 1: Population increase(17:35) Factor 2: Stagnant funding(23:21) Factor 3: Insecticide resistance(34:23) What are the relative contribution of these three components?(38:10) Factors that don't seem to be major contributors(38:27) The decline until 2015 and stagnation after do not represent trends in separate countries or regions(39:37) Removing PFAS from bednets doesn't appear to have affected experimental hut results(44:23) Anopheles stephensi isn't present in the areas with the highest rates of malaria yet(45:26) Nobody knows if climate change is making malaria worse(47:20) ConclusionsThe original text contained 6 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: March 16th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/rxTPv3MdrsHiqK7kM/money-population-and-insecticide-resistance-why-malaria --- 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.

Cross-posted from my blog. Contrary to my carefully crafted brand as a weak nerd, I go to a local CrossFit gym a few times a week. Every year, the gym raises funds for a scholarship for teens from lower-income families to attend their summer camp program. I don’t know how many Crossfit-interested low-income teens there are in my small town, but I’ll guess there are perhaps 2 of them who would benefit from the scholarship. After all, CrossFit is pretty niche, and the town is small. Helping youngsters get swole in the Pacific Northwest is not exactly as cost-effective as preventing malaria in Malawi. But I notice I feel drawn to supporting the scholarship anyway. Every time it pops in my head I think, “My money could fully solve this problem”. The camp only costs a few hundred dollars per kid and if there are just 2 kids who [...] ---Outline:(01:19) You are only ever making small dents in important problems(03:06) The man who failed to fully solve a genocide(06:29) Saving starfish(07:40) Big problems are actually solved piece by pieceThe original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: March 19th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/ZKfFoo8ttD9NEpKHv/you-probably-won-t-solve-malaria-or-x-risk-and-that-s-ok --- 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.

TL;DR In a sentence: We are shifting our strategic focus to put our proactive effort towards helping people work on safely navigating the transition to a world with AGI, while keeping our existing content up. In more detail: We think it's plausible that frontier AI companies will develop AGI by 2030. Given the significant risks involved, and the fairly limited amount of work that's been done to reduce these risks, 80,000 Hours is adopting a new strategic approach to focus our efforts in this area. During 2025, we are prioritising: Deepening our understanding as an organisation of how to improve the chances that the development of AI goes well Communicating why and how people can contribute to reducing the risks Connecting our users with impactful roles in this field And fostering an internal culture which helps us to achieve these goals We remain focused on impactful [...] ---Outline:(01:44) Why we're updating our strategic direction(04:02) How we hope to achieve it(05:44) Community implications(08:38) Potential questions you might have(08:42) What does this mean for non-AI cause areas?(10:44) How big a shift is this from 80k's status quo?(11:58) Are EA values still important?(13:36) What would cause us to change our approach?--- First published: March 20th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/4ZE3pfwDKqRRNRggL/80-000-hours-is-shifting-our-strategic-approach-to-focus --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

In my past year as a grantmaker in the global health and wellbeing (GHW) meta space at Open Philanthropy, I've identified some exciting ideas that could fill existing gaps. While these initiatives have significant potential, they require more active development and support to move forward. The ideas I think could have the highest impact are: Government placements/secondments in key GHW areas (e.g. international development), and Expanded (ultra) high-net-worth ([U]HNW) advising Each of these ideas needs a very specific type of leadership and/or structure. More accessible options I’m excited about — particularly for students or recent graduates — could involve virtual GHW courses or action-focused student groups. I can’t commit to supporting any particular project based on these ideas ahead of time, because the likelihood of success would heavily depend on details (including the people leading the project). Still, I thought it would be helpful to [...] ---Outline:(01:19) Introduction(02:30) Project ideas(02:33) Fellowships and Placements(02:37) Placement orgs for governments and think tanks(03:06) Fellowships/Placements at GHW Organizations(03:57) More, and different, effective giving organizations(04:03) More (U)HNW advising(05:14) Targeting different niche demographics(05:50) Filling more geographic gaps(06:08) Infrastructure support for GHW organizations(06:38) EA-inspired GHW courses(06:56) BlueDot Impact for GHW(07:40) Incorporating EA content into university courses(08:35) Useful GHW events(08:51) Events bringing together EA and mainstream GHD orgs(09:57) Career panels or similar(10:13) More, and different, student groups(10:18) Action-focused student groups(11:34) Policy-focused grad student groups(11:51) Less thought-through ideas(13:12) Perceived impact and fitThe original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: March 18th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/pAE6zfAgceCop6vcE/projects-i-d-like-to-see-in-the-ghw-meta-space --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Hey everyone, I’ve been going through the EA Introductory Program, and I have to admit some of these ideas make sense, but others leave me with more questions than answers. I’m trying to wrap my head around certain core EA principles, and the more I think about them, the more I wonder: Am I misunderstanding, or are there blind spots in EA's approach? I’d really love to hear what others think. Maybe you can help me clarify some of my doubts. Or maybe you share the same reservations? Let's talk. Cause Prioritization. Does It Ignore Political and Social Reality? EA focuses on doing the most good per dollar, which makes sense in theory. But does it hold up when you apply it to real world contexts especially in countries like Uganda? Take malaria prevention. It's a top EA cause because it's highly cost effective $5,000 can save a life [...] ---Outline:(00:40) Cause Prioritization. Does It Ignore Political and Social Reality?(01:53) Long termism. A Luxury When the Present Is in Crisis?(03:01) AI Safety. A Real Threat or Just Overhyped?(04:09) Earning to Give. A Powerful Strategy or a Moral Loophole?(05:05) Global vs. Local Causes. Does Proximity Matter?(06:06) Final Thoughts: What Am I Missing?--- First published: March 16th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/sanhCrJohGjAyAxLr/ea-a-view-from --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

*Disclaimer* I am writing this post in a personal capacity; the opinions I express are my own and do not represent my employer.I think that more people and orgs (especially nonprofits) should consider negotiating the cost of sizable expenses. In my experience, there is usually nothing to lose by respectfully asking to pay less, and doing so can sometimes save thousands or tens of thousands of dollars per hour. This is because negotiating doesn’t take very much time[1], savings can persist across multiple years, and counterparties can be surprisingly generous with discounts. Here are a few examples of expenses that may be negotiable: For organizations Software or news subscriptions Of 35 corporate software and news providers I’ve negotiated with, 30 have been willing to provide discounts. These discounts range from 10% to 80%, with an average of around 40%. Leases A friend was able [...] The original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: March 10th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/pufofnCukyN3hBamw/consider-haggling --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Forethought[1] is a new AI macrostrategy research group cofounded by Max Dalton, Will MacAskill, Tom Davidson, and Amrit Sidhu-Brar. We are trying to figure out how to navigate the (potentially rapid) transition to a world with superintelligent AI systems. We aim to tackle the most important questions we can find, unrestricted by the current Overton window. More details on our website. Why we exist We think that AGI might come soon (say, modal timelines to mostly-automated AI R&D in the next 2-8 years), and might significantly accelerate technological progress, leading to many different challenges. We don’t yet have a good understanding of what this change might look like or how to navigate it. Society is not prepared. Moreover, we want the world to not just avoid catastrophe: we want to reach a really great future. We think about what this might be like (incorporating [...] ---Outline:(00:34) Why we exist(01:57) Research(02:00) Research agendas(03:13) Recent work(03:34) Approach(03:37) Comparison to other efforts(04:14) Principles(05:35) What you can do(05:39) Engage with our research(06:08) Apply to work with us(06:25) FundingThe original text contained 1 footnote which was omitted from this narration. --- First published: March 11th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/6JnTAifyqz245Kv7S/forethought-a-new-ai-macrostrategy-group --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

This is a Draft Amnesty Week post. Last year, an EA community member who was scoping out some projects related to diversity and inclusion in EA noted that one challenge was not knowing what had been tried before. I drafted this summary but never got it out the door. The atmosphere around DEI interventions, in the US at least, is different than it was when I first drafted this. I’m not intending this as commentary as anything going on currently, but as finally publishing an old draft. The main update I've made is to add some demographic data that recently came out from the 2024 EA Survey. I don’t mean this post as a claim that EAs have done all the right things. I mean it as a historical record so people can better gauge what's been tried over time, what might be worth trying differently, and [...] ---Outline:(01:17) Organizational / program efforts(08:07) Efforts in hiring / staffing at EA orgs(11:58) Other research / content / major discussions in the community(21:40) Demographic trends over time(21:45) Location(22:39) Race(23:28) Gender(24:35) Political views(25:06) Age(25:20) Experiences at eventsThe original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: March 4th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/6FLvBaEwiiqf9JGEJ/history-of-projects-and-trends-on-diversity-in-ea --- 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.