80k After Hours Robert Wright & Rob Wiblin on the truth about effective altruism
13 snips
Apr 4, 2024 
Rob Wright and Rob Wiblin discuss topics like Sam Bankman-Fried, virtue ethics, longtermism, EA's role in OpenAI drama, fears about rogue AI, and societal impacts of AI advancements in an engaging discussion.
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Value Virtue over Reckless Calculus
- Cultivate virtue to avoid evil choices like stealing money even under pressure.
- Following moral rules consistently yields far better outcomes than reckless utilitarian calculations.
Virtue and Rule Ethics in Practice
- Virtue ethics can be justified consequentially as traits that tend to produce good outcomes.
- Practical ethics often require rule-following and virtue more than case-by-case utilitarianism.
Longtermism’s Limited Practical Role
- Longtermism, while philosophically deep, is not highly decision relevant in practice today.
- Most effective altruists focus on near-term issues like AI strategy, pandemic prevention, and nuclear war.