Are good intentions enough to call ourselves ethical?In this episode of #MoreThanGood, we move beyond intention to ask what it truly means to create positive change and how we can know whether our efforts are actually helping.Joining the conversation:Louise Pfeiffer, Regional Director, Asia Pacific at The Life You Can SaveHeidi Nicholl, President of the Humanist Society of VictoriaGrace, CEO of Effective Altruism AustraliaTogether, we explore whether charities can inadvertently cause harm, how we measure real impact, the ethics of extreme wealth, helping people across cultural boundaries, and the difficult choices between helping people, animals, and future generations.Because wanting to do good is the beginning. The harder question is: are we doing more than good?#MoreThanGood is a podcast from Effective Altruism Australia.Donate: https://effectivealtruism.org.au/donate/?utm_source=youtubeLearn more: https://effectivealtruism.org.au/?utm_source=youtubeNewsletter: https://effectivealtruism.org.au/newsletter?utm_source=youtube#EffectiveAltruism #Morality #Ethics

𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹? And when technology becomes better at calculating outcomes than we are, should we trust an algorithm over our own human judgement?In this episode of 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱, we sit down with leaders working across law, medicine, technology and effective giving:🔶 Noel Lim - Co-Founder and CEO of Anika Legal, and Victorian of the Year 2025🔶 Dr Henry Howard - Medical practitioner and effective giving advocate🔶 Grace Adams - CEO of Effective Altruism Australia𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜:Would you trust an algorithm more than your own empathy when deciding where to donate?Could AI become a better doctor or lawyer than a human?Can something be completely legal, yet still deeply unethical?And will the decisions we make about AI over the next few years shape the future of humanity?𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜, 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗽𝘆, 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲:How technology can help legal organisations support more people at a lower costWhether AI could allocate charitable funding more rationally than humansThe cognitive biases that distort how we decide which lives and causes to prioritiseWhy some professionals choose impact-led careers over more profitable pathsHow social media and algorithms are already shaping who receives our compassion and donationsWhether AI will amplify humanity’s best qualities - or simply scale our existing biasesThis is not only a conversation about what AI can do - It’s a conversation about who we want to become, and whether better technology will automatically create a better world, or whether that still depends on the humans building and using it.𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮.Donate to effective charities: https://l1nq.com/6nvu3lw Learn more about effective altruism: https://l1nq.com/eckkk5u Sign up to our newsletter: https://l1nq.com/jvzzqdc #EffectiveAltruism #ArtificialIntelligence #Ethics #LegalTech #Philanthropy

This episode takes on one of the most uncomfortable questions in ethics: whether doing good should be led by emotion, popularity, proximity - or cold, hard impact.

Bridget Loughhead, Ray O’Leary and Grace Adams unpack why some causes attract attention while others remain invisible, whether social media has made giving more performative, and what happens when “helping everyone a little” means failing to help anyone enough.\

From the famous “Repugnant Conclusion” thought experiment to the brutal logic of saving five strangers over one child you know, this conversation sits in the messy space between compassion and calculation. 

Can maths tell us how to be moral? 

Are we drawn to causes because they matter, or because they make us feel heroic? 

And if impact were invisible, would we still care?

A provocative, funny and morally uncomfortable conversation about charity, sacrifice, suffering, and the impossible choices behind trying to do the most good.

We are joined by Bridget Loughhead, Head of Community Programs at Effective Altruism AustraliaRay O’Leary, Comedian, writer & TV personalityGrace Adams, CEO of Effective Altruism Australia

More Than Good is a new podcast from Effective Altruism Australia.

Donate to effective charities: https://effectivealtruism.org.au/donate-podLearn more about effective altruism: https://effectivealtruism.org.au/Sign up to our newsletter: https://effectivealtruism.org.au/newsletter

#EffectiveAltruism #Podcast #Ethics #MoreThanGood

What does it actually mean to be a good person?

Is it about intention… or impact? Kindness… or sacrifice? And if you knew you could save a life ...would you change how you live?

In this episode of More Than Good, we sit down with some of the world’s most thoughtful minds on ethics, philanthropy, and human behaviour:

Peter Singer — one of the most influential moral philosophers of our time

Grace Adams — CEO of Effective Altruism Australia

Krystian Seibert — Executive Director, Policy and Sector Development at Philanthropy Australia and Chair of Mental Health First Aid International

Tse Yip Fai — researcher and PhD candidate on the intersection of AI and animal ethics

Together, they unpack the uncomfortable, often confronting questions most of us avoid:

Do we have a moral obligation to help others — or is it a personal choice?

How much should someone earning “comfortably” actually be giving?

If you could save one person you love or reduce suffering for 100 strangers… what would you choose?

Can you live a good life and still enjoy wealth, travel, and comfort?

We also go deeper into the ideas shaping modern ethical thinking:

1) Why most charitable giving doesn’t align with where suffering is greatest.

2) The concept of speciesism - and why our moral circle might be too small.

3) Why lower-income individuals often give more (proportionally) than the wealthy.

4) Whether governments should mandate giving — like India’s 2% CSR rule.

5) What an economy optimised for wellbeing, not profit, might actually look like.

This isn’t a feel-good conversation. It’s a reality check. Because once you understand how much good you could do… it becomes harder to ignore what you’re choosing not to do.

More Than Good is a new podcast from Effective Altruism Australia.

Donate to effective charities: https://effectivealtruism.org.au/donate-pod
Learn more about effective altruism: https://effectivealtruism.org.au/
Sign up to our newsletter: https://effectivealtruism.org.au/newsletter