The sad decline of effective altruism
A once wholesome and inspiring movement has become entangled with cults and has lost years chasing dead-end ideas
Effective Altruism’s Problems Go Beyond Sam Bankman-Fried - Bloomberg
archived 12 Mar 2026 21:01:45 UTC
Effective Altruism’s Bait-and-Switch: From Global Poverty To AI Doomerism
The Effective Altruism movement Effective Altruism (EA) is typically explained as a philosophy that encourages individuals to do the “most good” with their resources (money, skills). Its “effective…
Giving Altruism a Bad Name
Effective Altruism’s metrics-driven model of philanthropy is elitist, condescending and — most damning of all — extremely ineffective.
Effective Altruism Has a Hostile Culture for Women, Critics Say
Seven women connected to effective altruism tell TIME they experienced harassment and worse within the community
The Joy of Becoming Worthless…except to each other — Douglas Rushkoff
My last piece, The Intentional Collapse, seems to have agitated a few people. I know it came off a bit dark. I talked about how the Uber wealthy believe the world as we know it is ending and that there won’t be enough essential resources to go around, so they need to take control of as much money and stuff and land as possible in order to position themselves for the end of days.
Effective Altruism Is a Dangerous Cult — Here's Why
Understanding the "Scientology of Silicon Valley." (7,700 words)
Altruism | The Paper Pilot
The Paper Pilot's digital garden of thoughts on philosophy, politics, and sociology
AI #186: The World Takes Notice
In the wake of Jacob Coxon’s resignation, and the resulting preference cascade, things have escalated quickly.
Effective Altruism is self-recommending
Recently we bought my 3-year-old daughter a "behavior chart," in which she can earn stickers for achievements like not throwing tantrums, eating fruits and vegetables, and going to sleep on time. We successfully impressed on her that a major goal each day was to earn as many stickers as possible.
The Backward Mentality to Finding Victory - Mockingbird
It Doesn't Always Pay to Be a Thinker
EA is worse than traditional philanthropy in the way it excludes we the poor.
Effective altruism is worse than traditional philanthropy in the way it excludes the extreme poor in the global south. By Anthony Kalulu @KaluluAnthony | December 3, 2022: —- I have spent the vast portion of my life in ultra poverty. My region Busoga, is also Uganda’s most impoverished, yet Uganda itself is among the poorest countries … Continue reading ""
