dfgheaoinbt6t's comments

I understand their arguments just fine. I just don't think they make any sense.

Ought implies can. We cannot predict the far future of humanity. We cannot colonize other planets in the foreseeable future. We cannot plan how to handle future technology that we aren't yet sure is even possible.

The things we actually can predict and control, like global warming and natural disasters and pandemics, are handled with regular old public policy. Longtermism, almost by definition, refers to things we can neither predict nor control.

>Especially once people start down the path of thinking the needs of today aren't as important as the needs of a hypothetical future population.

It's not that that bothers me so much as the fact that many effective altruists do it so badly. We need to be concerned with the future. That is the only reason to maintain roads and bridges, to prevent pollution, or to conserve resources like water in aquifers and helium. But effective altruists are as likely to talk about colonizing Mars as they are to talk about global warming.

Effective altruism is supposedly about making evidence-based decisions. We have no idea how likely "existential risks" are. We have no idea what, if anything, can be done about them. We cannot predict a year into the future, let alone millenia. So-called longtermism is nothing more than guesswork.

Effective altruism is, I think, an ideology perfectly suited to ensnare a certain kind of person.

Conventional wisdom would say that wielding wealth and power like effective altruism demands requires humility, compassion, and maturity. It requires wisdom. Effective altruism can seem to remove the need for that. Doing good is about calculation, not compassion! Interpersonal failings don't matter if someone is really good with C++. One needn't care about the feelings of others if there are more efficient ways to use the time.

Effective altruism calls on the rich and capable to recognize their own power to help those who are poor and helpless. However, it is easy for pity to turn to contempt and for clarity of purpose to turn to arrogance. The poor, hungry, and sick of the world need the effective altruist for a savior. The effective altruist is better than the rest because they are making the world a better place.

An effective altruist may confuse immaturity with wisdom and greed with generosity.

This is not meant to be a diatribe. I find much of effective altruism obviously true and find my exposure to it has made me a better person. If pressed, I would probably call myself an effective altruist. Still, it is greatly concerning that people like Elon Musk or Sam Bankman-Fried can be associated with effective altruism without any real hypocrisy.