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As an Effective Altruist I want to cure cancer, so I maximize my income by selling cigarettes to children outside playgrounds. The money will eventually be dona

As an Effective Altruist I want to cure cancer, so I maximize my income by selling cigarettes to children outside playgrounds. The money will eventually be donated to the cause in my will, and in the meantime the prevalence of lung cancer in teens will incentivise the Free Market™ to find a cure. No need to thank me, really.

peteradio 4y ago
Wow! Bless this man. Now minimize harm by targeting demographics of children who are less likely to grow up to be effectively altruistic!
medstrom 4y ago
You jest, but that would absolutely make sense if you were a psychopath with the singular goal of finding a cure for cancer. Now use this same mindset but change the goal for something saner along the lines of "maximize healthy+happy lifespan for everyone", and then you won't sell cigarettes in playgrounds, since that harms the goal.
- AlexandrB 4y ago
  > "maximize healthy+happy lifespan for everyone" Okay, so then I fund pro-life groups to protect the lives/happiness of fetuses. And the EA activist down the street funds pro-choice groups to protect the lives/happiness of mothers. And we keep escalating such donations while having little net effect. IMHO EA has more than a hint of authoritarian (or at least anti-democratic) tendencies. What gives some rich guy the right to decide what would maximize happiness for others? Why not just leave that money with the people who are best positioned to make those decisions for themselves my minimizing wealth inequality instead?
  - riezebos 4y ago
    > Why not just leave that money with the people who are best positioned to make those decisions for themselves my minimizing wealth inequality instead? Great idea! Unsurprisingly, pro-choice and pro-life groups are not in the EA top recommended charities. GiveDirectly, which leaves money with the people who are best positioned to make decisions for themselves, is. There might be a lot of authoritarian EAs on forums promoting AI safety, but please don't judge the whole group by a vocal minority.

peteradio 4y ago

Wow! Bless this man. Now minimize harm by targeting demographics of children who are less likely to grow up to be effectively altruistic!

medstrom 4y ago

You jest, but that would absolutely make sense if you were a psychopath with the singular goal of finding a cure for cancer. Now use this same mindset but change the goal for something saner along the lines of "maximize healthy+happy lifespan for everyone", and then you won't sell cigarettes in playgrounds, since that harms the goal.

AlexandrB 4y ago
> "maximize healthy+happy lifespan for everyone" Okay, so then I fund pro-life groups to protect the lives/happiness of fetuses. And the EA activist down the street funds pro-choice groups to protect the lives/happiness of mothers. And we keep escalating such donations while having little net effect. IMHO EA has more than a hint of authoritarian (or at least anti-democratic) tendencies. What gives some rich guy the right to decide what would maximize happiness for others? Why not just leave that money with the people who are best positioned to make those decisions for themselves my minimizing wealth inequality instead?
- riezebos 4y ago
  > Why not just leave that money with the people who are best positioned to make those decisions for themselves my minimizing wealth inequality instead? Great idea! Unsurprisingly, pro-choice and pro-life groups are not in the EA top recommended charities. GiveDirectly, which leaves money with the people who are best positioned to make decisions for themselves, is. There might be a lot of authoritarian EAs on forums promoting AI safety, but please don't judge the whole group by a vocal minority.