EA Forum Podcast (All audio)

Highlights since our last feature update:

• People directory

• Google Doc import

• Card view for the Frontpage

• User profile updates

• Updates to sequences

We've also hosted 3 events, significantly improved the site speed, and made many more improvements across the Forum.

As always, we'd love feedback on these changes.

People directory

We’ve built a filterable database where anyone can find Forum users they might want to hire, collaborate with, or read.

You can filter the database by role, organization, interests and more.

If you want people to easily find you, consider adding more information to your Forum profile.

Google Doc import

You can now import posts directly from Google Docs. Footnotes and images will be imported along with the text.

How it works:

• Write and format your post in Google Docs
• Share the Google doc with [email protected]
• Copy the link to [...]

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Outline:

(00:41) People directory

(01:12) Google Doc import

(01:58) Card view for the Frontpage

(02:23) User profile updates

(03:12) Updates to sequences

(03:35) Other updates

(03:40) Forum performance is greatly improved

(04:05) Improved on-site audio experience

(04:39) We’ve fixed our Twitter bot

(05:18) Updated UI for post stats

(05:37) Self-service account deletion

(05:57) Events since March

(06:02) Draft Amnesty Week

(06:24) Ways the world is getting better banner

(06:53) AI Welfare Debate Week

(07:25) Bonus: April Fools

(07:40) Share your feedback

The original text contained 14 images which were described by AI.

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First published:

July 24th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/h2Gcxgvezf8io8mqr/forum-update-user-database-card-view-and-more-jul-2024

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Images from the article:

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Summary

What are my goals? And what did I find?

1. Are cross cultural interactions (CCIs) in EA even an issue for non-Western EAs who attended the retreat?
   1. It's more likely than not that they had experienced at least one mildly-to-moderately bad interaction. These are usually more subtle and unintentional.
   2. It's very unlikely that they had experienced an extremely bad interaction.
   3. It's very likely that their interactions are mostly positive.
2. How widespread is it?
   1. Uncertain, but probably yes.

Methodology

I thought a retreat that happened before EAGxPhilippines was a good opportunity to talk to a bunch of non-Western EAs, so I ran a focus group session as a way to solicit people's experiences of CCIs in EA settings.

The rules I enforced during that time were:

• To use Chatham house rule when talking about the session to others
• To keep our shared notes anonymised
• To differentiate [...]

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Outline:

(00:06) Summary

(00:48) Methodology

(01:24) Results

(01:28) Negative experiences

(01:52) Positive experiences

(02:08) Limitations

(03:24) Appendix

(03:28) Non-cross-cultural related or uncertain-if-it-is-cross-cultural related experiences

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First published:

July 24th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/hEMkbJR3o5cqSgR7F/focus-group-study-of-non-western-eas-experiences-with

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Introducing the tools

How can we optimize our charitable giving while accounting for complex factors about effectiveness and philosophy?

Rethink Priorities' Worldview Investigations Team developed two free tools to help address this question:

1. The portfolio builder 
2. The moral parliament simulation 

Both tools are described in the new Charitable Resource Allocation Frameworks and Tools (CRAFT) Sequence, which is a part of the Team's ongoing efforts to improve resource allocations.

Learn more 

Join Rethink Priorities' Senior Research Manager Bob Fischer and Researcher Arvo Muñoz Morán for a virtual workshop on how to use these new tools. The one-hour event will cover:

• An overview of why the CRAFT Sequence tools were developed.

• A virtual walkthrough of the Portfolio Builder Tool and the Moral Parliament Tool.

• A practical session on how you can apply these tools to your own giving strategies.

• A question-and-answer session to address [...]

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Outline:

(00:07) Introducing the tools

(00:43) Learn more

(01:26) Details

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

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First published:

July 24th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/YqdhkfmZA7nHGJFkj/webinar-how-to-use-rethink-priorities-new-effective-giving

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Images from the article:

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Summary

In this project, I investigated non-Western EAs’ perception of CCIs they had with Westerners, specifically:

1. How often non-Westerners experienced CCI issues;
2. What kinds of subtle acts of exclusion (SAEs) they had experienced;
3. How their CCIs compare between EA and non-EA settings.

To do that, I collected an array of evidence from seven sources (e.g., anecdotes from interviews and a focus group, and some statistics from three surveys not done by me). And based on the evidence on CCIs I have collected so far, I believe that poor CCIs are likely to be a common but minor problem for most non-westerners in the EA community.

At the organisational or community level, I would not flag CCI issues as something to be heavily prioritised (moderate confidence), but I would recommend EA-aligned organisations and organisers to start or maintain interventions that are sensible or if the trade-offs are acceptable, like some of [...]

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Outline:

(00:05) Summary

(01:32) Background

(02:49) Evidence compiled

(02:53) Evidence that might indicate less negative CCIs

(02:58) 1. EA Survey 2022

(04:09) Evidence that might indicate more negative CCIs

(04:14) 1. My personal experience

(05:43) 2. Focus group study of Non-Western EAs’ experiences with Western EAs

(05:59) 3. Community Health Survey 2023-2024

(06:42) 4. \[redacted\]'s experience

(07:04) 5. Feedback surveys from EA Globals in 2023

(08:06) 6. Interviews to understand Non-Western EAs’ perception of cross cultural interactions they had with Western EAs

(08:30) Limitations

(10:16) Conclusion

(11:44) Recommendations

(12:28) Further research

(13:50) Acknowledgements

(14:16) Appendix

(14:20) Definitions

(14:23) Western and non-Western

(16:05) Subtle acts of exclusions (SAEs)

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

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First published:

July 24th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/QnGbP3bx2Ly5ksDdx/evidence-of-poor-cross-cultural-interactions-in-the-ea

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Images from the article:

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Summary

Rebecca Kagan believes “EA needs an investigation, done externally and shared publicly, on mistakes made in the EA community's relationship with FTX.” She is far from the only person who has called for an independent investigation, but Kagan's experience and knowledge as a former board member of Effective Ventures makes her perspective particularly relevant.

Explaining her decision to resign from EV's board, Kagan wrote:

“I want to make it clear that I resigned last year due to significant disagreements with the board of EV and EA leadership, particularly concerning their actions leading up to and after the FTX crisis… I believe there were extensive and significant mistakes made which have not been addressed. (In particular, some EA leaders had warning signs about SBF that they ignored, and instead promoted him as a good person, tied the EA community to FTX, and then were uninterested in reforms or investigations [...]

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Outline:

(00:08) Summary

(06:11) Communications from EA leaders have not been forthcoming about important factual matters.

(06:45) Circa ~2017, SBF was one of 80k and CEA's largest donors.

(08:30) SBF served on CEA's board.

(09:00) SBF worked for CEA.

(09:20) Multiple EA leaders and organizations were aware about allegations stemming from the Alameda dispute.

(10:24) Open questions:

(11:37) There are worrisome discrepancies between comments from EA leaders and credible media reports.

(12:01) Will's professed ignorance about inappropriate romantic relationships SBF had while at Alameda directly conflicts with Time's reporting on the subject.

(12:57) Will's characterization of what complaints he heard about SBF related to the Alameda dispute, and when he heard them, conflicts with Time's reporting

(14:52) Nobody in EA leadership has publicly acknowledged the New Yorker's report that many leaders received warnings that SBF was being investigated for criminal behavior four months before FTX's collapse (other than to deny personally having seen said warnings)

(16:27) EA leadership has not acknowledged an internal CEA investigation and/or board assessment conducted relating to Alameda, which both Time and Semafor have reported

(18:00) Open questions:

(20:49) EA leaders have made public claims about post-FTX reforms that could easily be construed as misleading

(22:49) Open questions

The original text contained 14 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:

July 24th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/P9phn7uhjiCvaCPDZ/we-need-an-independent-investigation-into-how-ea-leadership

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

This is a link post.

This Vox article by Dylan Matthews provides an excellent overview of why funding Gavi, the international vaccine alliance, is one of the most impactful things the US government does. Gavi has a proven track record of cost-effectively saving millions of lives by providing access to essential vaccines in the world's poorest countries.

Gavi is currently seeking $9billion in funding for its 2026-2030 budget, which includes over $1 billion for the newly approved malaria vaccines. Despite some concerns about "donor fatigue," there appears to be strong bipartisan support in Congress for meeting or even exceeding the Biden administration's $1.58 billion pledge to Gavi.

However, the article argues that even this level of funding may not be sufficient to fully take advantage of the new malaria vaccines' potential. With more support, Gavi could theoretically vaccinate up to 29 million children per year against malaria.

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First published:

July 18th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/BQhcQSKk2SspgBu7F/the-most-crucial-part-of-next-year-s-federal-budget

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Summary

I investigated non-Western EAs’ perception of cross cultural interactions (CCIs) they had with Westerners, specifically:

1. Whether or not non-Westerners experienced CCI issues, and how often;
2. How their CCIs compare between EA and non-EA settings;
3. What kinds of subtle acts of exclusion (SAEs) they had experienced.

I interviewed 21 non-Western EAs (selected from an EA conference's Swapcard and a few from my own personal network) and discovered:

• An overwhelming number of interviewees (19 out of 21) thought their cross-cultural interactions in EA settings were almost all neutral or positive.
• However, among the same 19 interviewees who found their CCIs to be mostly neutral or positive, they’ve also reported the following:
• 43% (9 out of 19) reported at least one general negative CCI
• 48% (10 out of 19) reported at least one SAE caused by Western EAs
• 19% (4 out of 19) reported at least one SAE caused by [...]

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Outline:

(00:06) Summary

(03:12) Methodology

(05:58) Results

(06:01) 1.  Do non-Westerners experience CCI issues? And how many?

(07:20) 2. How do CCIs compare between EA and non-EA settings?

(08:05) 3. What kinds of SAEs do interviewees experience?

(08:11) Highlighted negative vignettes

(12:45) Highlighted positive vignettes

(13:59) Highlighted neutral vignettes

(14:18) CCIs interviewees reported and their frequency

(15:17) Demographics of interviewees

(15:21) Gender

(15:38) Locale

(16:16) Limitations

(18:22) Appendix

(18:25) Definition of subtle acts of exclusion

(19:21) Vignettes

(19:24) B

(20:48) C

(21:26) D

(22:00) F

(22:26) G

(22:58) H

(23:47) J

(24:33) K

(26:10) L

(27:34) M

(29:03) N

(29:29) P

(30:33) Q

(30:54) R

(32:09) S

(32:53) T

(33:59) V

(35:30) W

(36:25) X

(37:07) Y

(37:49) Z

The original text contained 2 images which were described by AI.

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First published:

July 24th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/jEvbQmKw6ZFkaHwZf/non-western-eas-perception-of-cross-cultural-interactions

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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We from Vida Plena are proud to present our first Annual Impact Report.

2023 was our first full year. It was a year of learning. We had just finished a successful pilot and started the year with the mission of building a solid foundation and proving that our therapy model works at scale.

This first annual impact report is our attempt to capture through charts and graphs bits of crucial evidence about who we’ve helped in 2023 and where we can continue to improve.

Background Context

Vida Plena (meaning ‘a flourishing life’ in Spanish) is a nonprofit organization based in Quito, Ecuador which launched in 2022 (see our launch post here).

Our mission is to build strong mental health in low-income and refugee communities, who otherwise would have no access to care. We provide evidence-based depression treatment using group interpersonal therapy, which is highly cost-effective and [...]

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Outline:

(00:46) Background Context

(01:20) Main Findings

(03:02) Challenges

(03:52) Limitations

(05:22) Next Steps for Our Work

(06:14) Read the Full Report

(06:30) Acknowledgments

(07:15) We would love to stay in touch and keep you up to date with our work

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

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First published:

July 23rd, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/2Nmz28rrJBRtpWJBh/vida-plena-s-2023-impact-report-measuring-progress-and

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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On July 30th, Peter Singer will be answering your questions in a Forum AMA. He has agreed to answer questions for an hour in the evening (Melbourne time), so if your question hasn’t been answered by the 31st, it likely won’t be.

Singer needs little introduction for many people in the Forum. In fact, it is fairly likely that his work was the reason we first heard about effective altruism. However, I’ve included some information here to orient your questions, if you’d benefit from it.

What Singer has been up to recently

Singer retired from his Princeton professorship recently, ending with a conference celebrating his work (written about by Richard Chappell here— I also recommend this post as a place to start looking for questions to ask Singer).

Since, then, he has:

• Started a podcast, Lives Well Lived, along with his frequent collaborator Kasia [...]

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Outline:

(00:37) What Singer has been up to recently

(01:31) EA-relevant moments in Singer's career

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First published:

July 22nd, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/kPaGNzBYe7iti8fop/peter-singer-ama-july-30th

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Last week I attended the UFAW International Animal Welfare Conference 2024 in Porto. Here are some facts about the conference and its content as well as some personal impressions. I hope this gives some insights into animal welfare work outside of EA. Of course, this is just one conference, though.

I am not affiliated with UFAW and did not present any work at the conference.

TLDR 

• The UFAW International Animal Welfare Conference 2024 was an academic two-day event with talks and posters
• most content was on farmed animals and lab animals 
• there was some representation of wild animals, especially among the talks, including the keynote
• companion animals, working animals and animals in zoos/sanctuaries/rehabilitation centres together also made up a large part of the programme, mostly in the form of posters
• my personal impressions include 
  • most people attending were not vegetarian or vegan
  • general enthusiasm about helping [...]

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Outline:

(00:34) TLDR

(01:25) about UFAW and the conference

(02:02) representation of different animal groups in the conference content

(02:08) overview

(02:51) wild animals

(04:23) farmed animals

(04:53) lab animals

(05:15) companion/working animals and animals in zoos

(05:45) visible EA-related presence

(06:10) personal experience of the vibe

(06:15) food

(07:15) general enthusiasm

(07:55) attitudes towards wild animal welfare

(08:58) potentially interesting future work

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

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First published:

July 21st, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/zXg5xj2b2GLmdAa5m/animal-welfare-outside-of-ea-numbers-and-thoughts-on-ufaw

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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