You might have recently heard of “longtermism” – the idea that, when taking actions in the world, we should consider the interests of people who will live in the future. A stronger version of this view might imply that somebody trying to benefit others should almost entirely focus on benefiting people who are not yet alive. Longtermism has gained traction in the fall of 2022, due in part to the release of Will MacAskill’s book What We Owe the Future. According to MacAskill, longtermism is based largely on three simple statements: “Future people count. There could be a lot of the ..read more

The following is an article written by Princeton EA Arete Fellow Sameer Riaz as his capstone project for the fellowship. Exploring effective altruism over the past few months has been one of the highlights of my semester. It truly feels as though that email advertising the Arete Fellowship was meant for me. I am beyond grateful for being given the opportunity to talk to so many like-minded individuals who are so passionate about seeking out what is best for the world.  However, as we delved deeper into the ideology and read articles from varying viewpoints, something felt out of place. De ..read more

The following is an article written by Princeton EA Arete Fellow Alison Lee as her capstone project for the fellowship.  I am deeply unsettled by how the Effective Altruism community excludes those who aren’t wealthy. This discomfort grew throughout the fellowship, but I am unable to identify the reason behind it until Week 7. During that week, the fellows were asked to explore a few Effective Altruist organizations. I found one that was particularly fascinating: the Generation Pledge. This organization aims to provide more resources to impactful causes by convincing the future inheritors ..read more

The following is an article written by Princeton EA Arete Fellow Lara Valt as her capstone project for the fellowship.  One cause which I think is of particularly high importance is international development. International development is a very cost-effective cause to give aid to, and for this reason the EA community has been very supportive of it. However, I still believe that positive secondary effects of giving to development are still often overlooked. As a result of participating in the EA fellowship, I felt inspired to apply to be an intern at a non-profit which builds schools and t ..read more

The following is an article written by Princeton EA Arete Fellow Qiqi Yang as her capstone project for the fellowship. Here I wanted to come up with a new topic that’s One Health, which, in my opinion, is neglected, tractable and at a large scale. Further, I think this topic will be of great value for EA community members to develop systematic thinking methods and shed light on a novel way to think about all the topics we discuss. First, let me give a brief introduction about One Health. It is a system where we see animal, human and environmental health as connected at local, national and glob ..read more

The following is an article written by Princeton EA Arete Fellow Evan DeTurk as his capstone project for the fellowship. In 2018, analysis of survey data on how people became involved in effective altruism noted the rapidly increasing influence of the career-focused organization 80,000 Hours. A greater focus on careers in EA outreach will likely increase efficacy, as effective careers can appeal to a wider array of individuals than other common entry points such as charitable giving. 80,000 Hours’ career guide encourages people to consider paths related to the organization’s list of the most p ..read more

The following is an article written by Princeton EA Arete Fellow Julia Walton as her capstone project for the fellowship. EA has a big job to do. In recent years, those like Jennifer Rubenstein (2016) and The Guerrilla Foundation (2020) have generated biting appraisals of the EA movement. I say “biting” because, even when critics understand EA’s positive contributions, criticisms like the ones linked above get to the heart of the gaps in EA’s general ideology. Since EA aspires to broaden it’s reach and impact, in order to move forward, EA must respond to these appraisals with deep reflection i ..read more

The following is an article written by Princeton EA Arete Fellow Jiyoun Roh as her capstone project for the fellowship. The year 3000. A murky sky. A land devoid of vegetation but scattered with dilapidated houses. So much smoke that the living creatures are difficult to make out – the few humans left scrambling to survive. Orange, brown, gray. Disease, blazing hot, poverty, and…are those giant robots stomping around? Now envision another 3000. There are iterations, of course. Some visions hold a world that has never experienced disease or poverty, or a world with flying taxis, or another with ..read more

The following is an article written by Princeton EA Arete Fellow Lauren Almstead as her capstone project for the fellowship. The World Health Organization has predicted that in the 21st century, smoking will kill at least 1 billion people worldwide. That number is more than three times the current population of the United States. And by 2030, 80% of tobacco related deaths will be taking place in developing countries. This all is occurring as public perception in America sees smoking as a declining problem, despite the number of tobacco related deaths rising each year since the globalization of ..read more

In this reading group meeting/dinner, we discussed “Climate Change (Extreme Risks)” by Roman Duda on 80,000 Hours, an organization offering research-based career advice on maximizing one’s positive impacts on the world. We also discussed “Does climate change deserve more attention within EA?” by effective altruist Louis Dixon. The meeting ended with a presentation from the New Jersey Student Climate Advocates (NJSCA), a student group working on climate change ..read more