EA Forum Podcast (All audio)

Summary

• The welfare loss from global warming is much smaller than that from epidemics/pandemics, this is smaller than that from conflicts, this is negligible compared with that from factory-farming, and this is negligible compared with that from wild animal suffering. I estimate the human welfare loss from malaria in 2020 corresponds to 3.81 h of factory-farming, or 0.0576 s of wild animal suffering.
• The spending on the improvement of wild animal suffering is negligible compared with that of factory-farming, this is negligible compared with that of epidemics/pandemics, this is smaller than that of global warming, and this is smaller than that of conflicts.
• As a result, wild animal suffering is super neglected compared with factory-farming, this is super neglected compared with epidemics/pandemics, these are neglected compared with conflicts, and these are very neglected compared with global warming.
• One should donate based on the marginal cost-effectiveness of organisations, not the welfare loss per [...]

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Outline:

(01:39) Introduction

(02:02) Methods

(02:07) Welfare loss

(06:18) Spending

(07:18) Results

(07:21) Welfare loss

(08:35) Spending

(09:22) Welfare loss per spending

(10:05) Discussion

(15:27) Acknowledgements

The original text contained 1 footnote which was omitted from this narration.

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First published:

March 30th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/cG6ccHYwwYktSD4pS/wild-animal-suffering-is-super-neglected-compared-with

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Summary

Immediate skin-to-skin contact (SSC) between mothers and newborns and early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) may play a significant and underappreciated role in reducing neonatal mortality. These practices are distinct in important ways from more broadly recognized (and clearly impactful) interventions like kangaroo care and exclusive breastfeeding, and they are recommended for both preterm and full-term infants.

A large evidence base indicates that immediate SSC and EIBF substantially reduce neonatal mortality. Many randomized trials show that immediate SSC promotes EIBF, reduces episodes of low blood sugar, improves temperature regulation, and promotes cardiac and respiratory stability. All of these effects are linked to lower mortality, and the biological pathways between immediate SSC, EIBF, and reduced mortality are compelling. A meta-analysis of large observational studies found a 25% lower risk of mortality in infants who began breastfeeding within one hour of birth compared to initiation after one hour.

These practices are [...]

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Outline:

(02:52) Introduction

(05:12) A. The burden of neonatal mortality remains large, and much is preventable

(06:03) B. Immediate SSC and EIBF appear to reduce neonatal mortality

(06:58) EIBF is associated with reductions in mortality in large observational trials

(09:55) Experimental evidence shows that SSC improves important clinical outcomes

(11:23) EIBF and other outcomes of SSC are congruent with mortality benefits

(14:27) C. A visual summary of pathways from SSC and EIBF to impact

(15:20) D. The mortality benefit may be substantial, even with pessimistic assumptions

(18:55) E. SSC and EIBF have almost no cost and few associated risks

(20:45) F. Rates of SSC and EIBF vary widely and are often very low

(23:38) G. SSC and EIBF can be increased by basic promotional interventions

(23:45) SSC can be dramatically improved by targeting hospitals and health workers

(25:47) EIBF can be moderately increased by targeting mothers or broader communities

(28:09) The potential ceiling is high

(29:08) H. Few actors are working specifically to increase universal SSC and EIBF

(30:01) Key uncertainties and how we could be wrong

(35:22) Additional research needed

(37:44) Disclosures

(38:35) References

The original text contained 28 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:

March 28th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/bLZj9puhixeYajTJ2/promoting-immediate-skin-to-skin-contact-and-early-1

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For the World Day of the End of Fishing and Fish Farming, we are called to confront the hidden suffering of billions of fish and the urgent need for a transformative approach to aquaculture. 

Ending fish farming: an effective cause?

The World Day of the End of Fishing and Fish Farming is an opportunity to expose the suffering of billions of fish and push for change. Despite the staggering scale of industrial aquaculture, fish remain one of the most overlooked groups in the animal advocacy movement. Their suffering is immense, the issue is underfunded, and meaningful progress is within reach — which makes it a promising area for intervention.

The vast suffering of farmed fish

Fish are amongst the most exploited animals on the planet, yet they receive minimal attention in discussions about animal welfare. In Switzerland alone, 5 million fish are raised in aquaculture systems every [...]

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Outline:

(00:51) The vast suffering of farmed fish

(02:03) An overlooked and understudied issue

(03:01) Realistic pathways to change

(04:11) Time to act: a high-impact opportunity

(04:56) Make waves for fish

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First published:

March 29th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/tkmYaky8erKphuBpL/fish-farming-the-invisible-crisis-we-can-no-longer-ignore

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Impact of Consultation: The UK government is considering enabling investment in insect farming based on the outcome of this public consultation. That investment would likely mean trillions of more insects suffering, which we already see in the United States, France, and Spain.

Impact of you filling out the consultation: A December 2024 Scottish consultation about insect farming had only 44 public responses, and roughly half were pro-insect farming. You filling out the consultation about the negative aspects of insect farming will matter and could tip the outcome towards compassion.

Effort: Takes less than 10 minutes and there is only 3 questions that need to be filled out: 2 multiple choice questions, and 1 written question, which we have pre-made answers for (see here).

Deadline: April 1st (3 days away from 3/28)

Convinced it is worth 10 minutes of your time? Open the UK consultation [...]

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First published:

March 30th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/eyisCzEZrckuLp2CM/should-there-be-insect-farming-in-the-uk-deadline-april-1st

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Last week, I participated in Animal Advocacy Careers’ Impactful Policy Careers programme. Below I’m sharing some reflections on what was a really interesting week in Brussels!

Please note I spent just one week there, so take it all with a grain of (CAP-subsidized) salt. Posts like this and this one are probably much more informative (and assume less context). I mainly wrote this to reflect on my time in Brussels (and I capped it at 2 hours, so it's not a super polished draft). I’ll focus mostly on EU careers generally, less on (EU) animal welfare-related careers.

Before I jump in, just a quick note about how I think AAC did something really cool here: they identified a relatively underexplored area where it's relatively easy for animal advocates to find impactful roles, and then designed a programme to help these people better understand that area, meet stakeholders, and learn [...]

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Outline:

(01:26) On EU careers generally

(02:59) On EU careers - EA specific

(05:55) Some miscellaneous notes

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First published:

March 30th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/e95HCwqNp7RiF94ad/what-i-learned-from-a-week-in-the-eu-policy-bubble

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In a recent Wired article about Anthropic, there's a section where Anthropic's president, Daniela Amodei, and early employee Amanda Askell seem to suggest there's little connection between Anthropic and the EA movement:

Ask Daniela about it and she says, "I'm not the expert on effective altruism. I don't identify with that terminology. My impression is that it's a bit of an outdated term". Yet her husband, Holden Karnofsky, cofounded one of EA's most conspicuous philanthropy wings, is outspoken about AI safety, and, in January 2025, joined Anthropic. Many others also remain engaged with EA. As early employee Amanda Askell puts it, "I definitely have met people here who are effective altruists, but it's not a theme of the organization or anything". (Her ex-husband, William MacAskill, is an originator of the movement.)

This led multiple people on Twitter to call out how bizarre this is:

In my [...]

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First published:

March 30th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/53Gc35vDLK2u5nBxP/anthropic-is-not-being-consistently-candid-about-their

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This is a link post.Executive SummaryThe Issue

In January 2025, the US government initiated a 90-day pause on new foreign aid. This pause was followed by a State Department memo halting all new obligations and existing work, leading to massive USAID staff reductions. Secretary Rubio subsequently announced the termination of most foreign aid programs, aiming to bring the remaining 12% under State Department control. These actions have resulted in immediate disruptions, including increased disease-related deaths, organizational shutdowns, and vital supplies being held up. In the last few months, we have had conversations with donors and foundations who wish to allocate funds in response to the US foreign aid cuts. This document is meant as a handy resource to help donors and foundations think through these issues. We provide two approaches below.

The Cause Approach

If you are a donor with attachments to a specific cause area (such as [...]

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Outline:

(00:17) Executive Summary

(00:21) The Issue

(01:15) The Cause Approach

(03:14) The Funding Opportunity Approach

(05:19) Contributions and acknowledgments

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First published:

March 28th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/rpkktqSfdNzbyJjkW/us-foreign-aid-funding-pause-a-framework-for-giving-in

Linkpost URL:
https://rethinkpriorities.org/research-area/us-foreign-aid-funding-pause-a-framework-for-giving-in-uncertain-times/

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This is a link post.

The economics of AI remains surprisingly understudied, even as technical progress in artificial intelligence continues rapidly. The Stripe Economics of AI Fellowship aims to help fill that gap by supporting foundational academic research in the area.

We invite graduate students and early-career researchers who are interested in studying the economics of AI to apply, regardless of prior experience. Fellows receive a grant of at least $10k, participate in conferences with leading economists and technologists, and have the potential to access unique data via Stripe and its customers. Our initial cohort will include 15-20 fellows, and will form the foundation of a community at the bleeding edge of economic research.

While we welcome researchers interested in any aspect of the economics of AI, broadly defined, we are particularly interested in supporting high-impact research that:

• is focused on the economics of transformative AI
• is forward-looking
• is [...]

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Outline:

(01:16) Apply now

(01:32) What does the fellowship program include?

(02:19) How much funding do fellows receive?

(02:47) What is expected of fellows?

(03:07) What sort of research are you looking for? What do you mean by transformative AI?

(03:55) Who is eligible to apply?

(04:31) Who will review applications?

(04:40) When can I apply?

(04:52) Additional questions?

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First published:

March 28th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/7eJZ7Wufzbu2iSKv9/stripe-economics-of-ai-fellowship

Linkpost URL:
https://stripe.events/fellowship

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A lot of our content focuses on helping people figure out how to have a positive impact through their careers. But for many, the key challenge isn’t deciding what to do—it's how to actually land a job that lets them do it.

The practical side of job hunting comes with plenty of challenges: figuring out which roles to apply for, overcoming the perceived awkwardness of networking, actually landing interviews and escaping the limbo of never hearing back. And while there's no shortage of advice out there, sifting through it to find something genuinely useful can be frustrating and time-consuming.

To make this easier, we’ve put together a series of guides on the nuts and bolts of job hunting, designed for both early-career professionals and those making a career pivot. Our main How to Get a Job Guide walks through the key steps of the job hunt and links [...]

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First published:

March 27th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/hxFxjtBQtWpoZ8Xbj/new-guides-on-how-to-actually-get-a-job

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“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 [...]

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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.

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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

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