EA Forum Podcast (Curated & popular)

• “Doing Prioritization Better” by arvomm, David_Moss, Hayley Clatterbuck, Laura Duffy, Derek Shiller, Bob Fischer

  Or on the types of prioritization, their strengths, pitfalls, and how EA should balance them The cause prioritization landscape in EA is changing. Prominent groups have shut down, others have been founded, and everyone is trying to figure out how to prepare for AI. This is the first in a series of posts examining the state of cause prioritization and proposing strategies for moving forward. Executive Summary Performing prioritization work has been one of the main tasks, and arguably achievements, of EA. We highlight three types of prioritization: Cause Prioritization, Within-Cause (Intervention) Prioritization, and Cross-Cause (Intervention) Prioritization. We ask how much of EA prioritization work falls in each of these categories: Our estimates suggest that, for the organizations we investigated, the current split is 89% within-cause work, 2% cross-cause, and 9% cause prioritization. We then explore strengths and potential pitfalls of each level: Cause [...] ---Outline:(00:37) Executive Summary(03:09) Introduction: Why prioritize? Have we got it right?(05:18) The types of prioritization(06:54) A snapshot of EA(16:45) The Types of Prioritization Evaluated(16:57) Cause Prioritization(20:56) Within-Cause Prioritization(25:12) Cross-Cause Prioritization(30:07) Summary Table(30:53) What factors should push us towards one or another?(37:27) Possible Next Steps(39:44) Conclusion(40:58) Acknowledgements(41:01) en-US-AvaMultilingualNeural__ Modern geometric logo design with text RETHINK PRIORITIES(41:55) Appendix: Strengths and Pitfalls of Each Type(42:07) Within-Cause Prioritization Strengths(42:12) Decision-Making Support(42:37) Comparability of Outputs(44:18) Disciplinarity Advantages(45:45) Responsiveness to Evidence(46:48) Movement Building(48:06) Within-Cause Prioritization Weaknesses and Potential Pitfalls(48:12) Responsiveness to Evidence(50:54) Decision-Making Support(52:45) Cross-Cause Prioritization Strengths:(53:06) Decision-Making Support(54:49) Responsiveness to Evidence(56:08) Movement Building(56:22) Comparability of Outputs(56:45) Decision-Making Support(57:14) Cross-Cause Prioritization Weaknesses and Potential Pitfalls(57:20) Comparability of Outputs(58:01) Disciplinarity Advantages(58:41) Movement Building(59:09) Decision-Making Support(01:00:27) Cause Prioritization Strengths(01:00:32) Decision-Making Support(01:02:01) Responsiveness to Evidence(01:02:52) Movement Building(01:03:28) Cause Prioritization Weaknesses and Potential Pitfalls(01:04:28) Decision-Making Support(01:06:08) Responsiveness to EvidenceThe original text contained 23 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: April 16th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/ZPdZv8sHuYndD8xhJ/doing-prioritization-better-2 --- 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.

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• “The Soul of EA is in Trouble” by Mjreard

  This is a Forum Team crosspost from Substack. Whither cause prioritization and connection with the good? There's a trend towards people who once identified as Effective Altruists now identifying solely as “people working on AI safety.”[1] For those in the loop, it feels like less of a trend and more of a tidal wave. There's an increasing sense that among the most prominent (formerly?) EA orgs and individuals, making AGI go well is functionally all that matters. For that end, so the trend goes, the ideas of Effective Altruism have exhausted their usefulness. They pointed us to the right problem – thanks; we’ll take it from here. And taking it from here means building organizations, talent bases, and political alliances at a scale incommensurate with attachment to a niche ideology or moralizing language generally. I think this a dangerous path to go down too hard and my impression [...] ---Outline:(02:39) What I see(06:35) The threat means pose to ends(11:12) Losing something moreThe original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: May 8th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/CKKAga4HfQyAranaC/the-soul-of-ea-is-in-trouble --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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• “12x more cost-effective than EAG - how I organised EA North 2025 (and how you could, too)” by matthes

  I put on a small one-day conference. The cost per attendee was £50 (vs £1.2k for EAGs) and the cost per new connection was £11 (vs £130 for EAGs). intro EA North was a one-day event for the North of England. 35 people showed up on the day. In total, I spent £1765 (≈ $2.4k), including paying myself £20/h for 30h total. This money will be reimbursed by EA UK[1]. The cost per attendee was £50 and the cost per new connection was £11. These are significantly lower than for EAG events, suggesting that we should be putting on more smaller events. I am not arguing that EAGs should not exist at all. A local event will likely never let me connect with someone living on another continent in person. My main goal with this post is to encourage individuals to put on more events [...] ---Outline:(00:29) intro(01:38) why you can probably do this, too(02:26) what I spent the money on and a comparison with EAG London 2023(03:12) budget breakdown(04:48) cost per attendee per day(05:17) cost per connection(07:19) what I spent my time on(08:24) ideas for being even more cost-effective(09:27) recommendations to funders(09:49) reconsider how much resources you spend on small applications(10:44) consider providing funding upfront(11:17) thermal printers are cool and cheap(11:57) conclusionThe original text contained 7 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: May 2nd, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/m9sTFoAsE8dSnzoBt/untitled-draft-tr7p --- 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.

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  14:23
• “E2G help available” by Will Kirkpatrick

  If you’re interested in having a meaningful EA career but your experience doesn’t match the types of jobs that the typical white collar, intellectual EA community leans towards, then you’re just like me. I have been earning to give as a nuclear power plant operator in Southern Maryland for the past few years, and I think it's a great opportunity for other EA's who want to make a difference but don’t have a PhD in philosophy or public policy. Additionally, I have personal sway with Constellation Energy's Calvert Cliffs plant, so I can influence the hiring process to help any interested applicants. Here are a few reasons that I think this is such an ideal Earn to Give career: A high income job in a low cost of living area means you will be able to donate a significant portion of your paychecks and still live comfortably. [...] --- First published: April 17th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/LeuLyJEXcjAkeB965/e2g-help-available --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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• “Cultivating doubt: why I no longer believe cultivated meat is the answer” by Tom Bry-Chevalier🔸

  Introduction In this post, I present what I believe to be an important yet underexplored argument that fundamentally challenges the promise of cultivated meat. In essence, there are compelling reasons to conclude that cultivated meat will not replace conventional meat, but will instead primarily compete with other alternative proteins that offer superior environmental and ethical benefits. Moreover, research into and promotion of cultivated meat may potentially result in a net negative impact. Beyond critique, I try to offer constructive recommendations for the EA movement. While I've kept this post concise, I'm more than willing to elaborate on any specific point upon request.From industry to academia: my cultivated meat journey I'm currently in my fourth year (and hopefully final one!) of my PhD. My thesis examines the environmental and economic challenges associated with alternative proteins. I have three working papers on cultivated meat at various stages of development, though [...] ---Outline:(00:13) Introduction(00:55) From industry to academia: my cultivated meat journey(01:53) Motivations and epistemic status(03:39) Baseline assumptions for this discussion(03:44) Cultivated meat is environmentally better than conventional meat, but probably not as good as plant-based meat(06:29) Cultivated meat will remain quite expensive for several years, and hybrid plant-cell products will likely appear on the market first(08:58) Cultivated meat is ethically better than conventional meat(10:26) The main argument: cannibalization rather than conversion(16:46) Strategic drawbacks of the current focus(19:11) The evidence that would make me eat my words (and maybe cultivated meat)(20:37) What Id like to see change in the Effective Altruism approach to cultivated meat(22:14) Answer from GFI Europe--- First published: April 30th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/TYhs8zehyybvMt5E4/cultivating-doubt-why-i-no-longer-believe-cultivated-meat-is --- 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.

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