Effective altruism is about doing good better

Effective altruism is a philosophy and community focused on maximising the good you can do through your career, projects, and donations.

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The world is changing in important ways; we can contribute to real progress, but we must also reduce the new risks that come with it.

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What is effective altruism?

Everyone wants to do good, but many ways of doing good are ineffective or actively harmful. The EA movement arose out of a desire to make sure that attempts to do good actually work.

This led to many ideas like the following:

When choosing what to fund or work on, we shouldn't go for what's most personal or accessible to us.
We should focus on problems that are important, neglected, and tractable (which we can actually do something about).
We should evaluate the work that charities do, and value transparency and good evidence.
Our time is valuable, and we can do a lot of good with our careers.
The world is threatened by existential risks, and making it safer might be a key priority.
The suffering of some sentient beings is ignored because they don't look like us or are far away

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What has the effective altruism community done?

Effective altruism isn't one organization, it's a broad community of people working on a diverse set of projects with a common goal: doing as much good as possible. Below are some things people have done.

Research and ideas

Some of the writing and research that has influenced the movement the most.

Why this might be humanity’s most important century

Holden Karnofsky

Many experts predict that powerful artificial intelligence will be developed this century. That would radically change society — and without careful thought, disastrously so.

New Ideas

Which charities improve global health the most per dollar?

GiveWell

GiveWell's extensive research provides the gold-standard for the cost-effectiveness of public health interventions.

Donations

The case that career choice is your key moral decision

80,000 Hours

You'll probably spend half your waking hours on your career. That makes it your most valuable resource for doing good.

Career Advice

The possibility of an ongoing moral catastrophe

Evan G Williams

Most past societies had norms that appear catastrophically wrong in retrospect. Are we any different?

New Ideas

What’s the chance of a great power war this century?

Stephen Clare

Would a global conflict threaten the survival of human civilization? What can be done?

New Ideas

Receive a book of key effective altruism ideas

Below are some important books on the most pressing problems and how you can use your time and resources to make a difference. You can get a copy for free via the Impact Books program.

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An exploration of the risks society faces, their context in the greater story of humanity, and how ending these risks is among the most pressing moral issues of our time.