EA Forum Podcast (All audio)

Open Philanthropy is launching a search for an exceptional Program Officer to found and lead a new grantmaking portfolio focused on promoting economic growth in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). If we make a hire, we expect them to oversee at least $30 million in giving over their first three years. We are looking for someone with significant experience related to economic growth in LMICs who can develop and execute a highly effective program strategy.

The deadline for applications is November 24, 2024. More information on the job is available here.

Our Program Officer will make, manage, and evaluate grants, allocating the program's budget to maximize its impact through promoting LMIC growth. They will develop and execute OP's strategy in this area with a high degree of autonomy.

We are launching a new program focused on economic growth in LMICs because we believe there is significant [...]

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First published:

October 16th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/fySXCrhFQAqsLvbjZ/we-re-launching-a-new-program-for-economic-growth-in-lmics

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

This is a link post.

This is a crosspost for Why is it so hard to know if you're helping? by Erik Hoel, which was published on 25 January 2024.

[Subtitle:] Even sending mosquito bed nets to Africa carries uncertainty

Art for The Intrinsic Perspective is by Alexander Naughton

“We are willing to help, Lord, but what, if anything, is needed? ... Either we don't know what part of ourselves to give or, more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted.” - A River Runs Through It, Norman MacLean

A long time ago I was sitting on an airplane next to a sociable teenager. We ended up chatting, and she told me about life on her reservation, since she was Native American. As a teenager her thoughts were on her soon-to-be disclosed inheritance, because members of her tribe, due to the collective ownership of casinos, received [...]

The original text contained 3 images which were described by AI.

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First published:

October 16th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/KAJcjJmiffkC5kafG/why-is-it-so-hard-to-know-if-you-re-helping

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Images from the article:

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Summary

1. I outline an argument for nonhuman animals mattering a lot in expectation on desire and preference-based views (more).
2. I argue against normalizing by desires/preferences about one's own suffering (more).
3. I also discuss other views, including rights-based theories, contractualism, virtue ethics and special obligations in another post here.

This post combines two comments I made for Animal Welfare vs Global Health Debate Week, tying together some ideas from other posts in this sequence and adding a bit more.

The case for animals on desire and preference views

I think there's a decent case for nonhuman animals mattering substantially in expectation on non-hedonic views, including desire and preference views:

1. I think it's not too unlikely that nonhuman animals have access to whatever general non-hedonic values you care about, e.g. chickens probably have (conscious) desires and preferences, and there's a decent chance shrimp and insects do, too (more [...]

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Outline:

(00:05) Summary

(00:43) The case for animals on desire and preference views

(02:27) Against normalizing by suffering

The original text contained 4 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:

October 16th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/8xxFxaLu9aQoYXGAj/animals-matter-a-lot-on-non-hedonic-views

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

This is a follow-up from a post I made a week ago. If you have twenty minutes to spare, you can contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the UK's aid programme - which spends approximately US $20 billion each year - to try to direct as much of that money to go towards the most effective interventions to help the greatest number of people.

You can do this yourself by making a submission to this consultation (you don’t have to be a UK citizen to respond), using the info from this post and the attached Submission Guide, or you can join the online workshop on October 14th @ 6:30PM BST.

This consultation closes in THREE days at midnight (UK) October 16th.

What's the public consultation?

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) is running a public consultation on what parts of the UK's aid programme it should review [...]

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Outline:

(00:48) What's the public consultation?

(01:58) Why this is important

(02:31) How you can make a submission

(03:08) Will this be impactful?

The original text contained 1 image which was described by AI.

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First published:

October 13th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/qJvdr46Gj2B3vSv9C/you-can-help-make-usd20-billion-of-aid-each-year-more

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Images from the article:

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Many people wish EA was better at communicating with non-EA audiences and want to help, but aren’t sure how. We offer a few options below.

If you’re unfamiliar with Good Impressions, our website is here and we’ve also provided some additional information below.

 

1. Submit your ideas for EA communications projects

Do you have an idea for an impactful EA communications project? Is there something you wish someone would do to improve EA communications?

These could be projects that help organizations involved in EA causes, the causes themselves, or EA as a whole.

Submit your idea here and we will consider pursuing it or finding someone else to pursue it.

2. Submit referrals for experienced marketing or communications professionals 

We are looking for marketing or communications professionals to bring additional types of expertise to our team, either in [...]

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Outline:

(00:22) 1. Submit your ideas for EA communications projects

(00:50) 2. Submit referrals for experienced marketing or communications professionals

(01:25) 3. Apply to work at Good Impressions

(02:39) About Good Impressions

(03:16) Expanding our theory of change

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First published:

October 15th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/8M8jGsCLcTzTnYtsw/opportunities-to-improve-ea-communications

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

TL;DR

Global Policy Research Group (GPRG) is launching an initiative to accelerate progress on neglected but pressing global health issues through policy advocacy.

In the last 6 months, we spoke[1] with several high-impact global health organizations and experts, who shared that finding "top local talent" in target countries (mostly Low- and Middle-Income Countries) is a significant challenge. In response, we are building a new initiative called "Health Progress Hub" to address infrastructure gaps in global health policy.

 

What are we doing currently? And how can you help us? 

Ecosystem Assessment Survey: We are conducting a more comprehensive ecosystem assessment survey. This assessment aims to verify our initial observations and identify the most pressing talent (and infrastructure) needs in the field.

If you are working at a health policy organization and would like to provide input (and/or would like to receive support), you can fill in this form!
[...]

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Outline:

(00:07) TL;DR

(00:42) What are we doing currently? And how can you help us?

(03:18) Challenges faced by health advocacy organizations

(05:51) Our approach and added value

(07:09) Why should an external organization do this?

(09:12) Future directions and other ecosystem needs we are considering

(11:06) Build-in-Public

(11:54) Who are we?

The original text contained 3 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

The original text contained 1 image which was described by AI.

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First published:

October 14th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/4GqFqhou2KynWFFcQ/launching-the-health-progress-hub-and-how-you-can-help-us

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Images from the article:

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This is a link post.

Most development interventions are considered “good buys” (for donors or governments) if they return $15 in social benefits for every $1 spent.

Every $1 spent on reading glasses could result in $46 more in earnings.

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First published:

October 15th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/JhYtZk6YXPNwE2Zfs/reading-glasses-might-be-one-of-the-best-buys-in-global

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

This post is an overview of the Moral Two Envelopes Problem and a take on whether it applies to Rethink Priorities' Moral Weights Project. It is a product of discussions between myself, Michael St. Jules, Hayley Clatterbuck, Marcus Davis, Bob Fischer, and Arvo Muñoz Morán, but need not reflect anyone's views but my own. Thanks to Brian Tomasik, Carl Shulman, and Michael St. Jules for comments. Michael St. Jules discusses many of these issues in depth in a forum post earlier this year.

Introduction

When deciding how to prioritize interventions aimed at improving the welfare of different species of animals, it is critical to have some sense of their relative capacities for wellbeing. Animals’ welfare capacities are, for the most part, deeply uncertain. Our uncertainty stems both from the gaps in our understanding of the cognitive faculties and the behaviors of different species, which constitute the external evidence of [...]

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Outline:

(00:37) Introduction

(02:34) Moral Two Envelopes Problem

(06:09) Three Related Issues

(06:48) The Pinning Problem

(08:59) The Ratio Incorporation Problem

(11:10) The Metric Locality Problem

(14:39) Avoiding These Issues

(15:03) Pinning to Humans

(19:28) Assuming a Normative Theory

(23:44) Calibrating Through Shared Assessments

(26:10) Conclusion

The original text contained 12 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:

October 15th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/wHvpejaZYuXpMSMpf/the-moral-two-envelopes-problem-and-the-moral-weights

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

This is a link post.

Xenobiology. Catholic schools. When will we have artificial wombs? Old MacDonald meets Big Brother. Weird little guys. Malaria vaccines. The most important part is knowing when to quit. What's going on with the kids these days? Unleash the DFC. All about GLP-1s. Urban planning, Weber-style. Of course the AI labs are lying to you

Asterisk is a quarterly journal of clear writing and clear thinking about things that matter (and, occasionally, things we just think are interesting). In this issue:

• Georgia Ray explains how microbiologists uncover hidden microbial worlds within us.
• The Editors curated diverse perspectives on growth and change across global development, technology, medicine, and education.
• Greg Justice forecasts the future availability of GLP-1 weight loss drugs in the US through 2030.
• Andrew Herscowitz explains how Power Africa revolutionized development finance by taking a transactional approach, leveraging public-private partnerships, and breaking down interagency [...]

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First published:

October 14th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/qpqaiMZtpdqoM4diT/asterisk-mag-07-development

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

I'd like to thank Derek Shiller from Rethink priorities for extensive discussions and looking over this post.

Introduction

I've been following the "animal welfare" debate this week on the EA forum, and noticed that a key crux for a lot of people was that calculations showed that animal welfare campaigns (specifically the "caged chicken corporate campaign") was much more cost effective than a human global health development project like the against malaria foundation.

But while most estimates agreed that AW was more effective than GHD, I noticed there was a wide discrepancy in how much more effective it was. Vasco Grilo claimed it was 1500 times better. This report by Laura Duffy of rethink priorities (when you convert from order of magnitude to real numbers in table 1) claimed it was about 60 times better. Whereas if you go the Cross cause comparison website, also by RP, and [...]

The original text contained 7 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:

October 14th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/qARKFgYhCqmKB2YpF/explaining-the-discrepancies-in-cost-effectiveness-ratings-a

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.