Effective Altruism Global
Effective Altruism Global, abbreviated EA Global, is a series of philanthropy conferences that focuses on the effective altruism movement.[1] The conferences are run by the Centre for Effective Altruism at Oxford University.[2] Huffington Post editor Nico Pitney described the events as a gathering of "nerd altruists", which was "heavy on people from technology, science, and analytical disciplines".[3]
Events
In 2015, there were three main EA Global events. The largest, with around 400 attendees, was a three-day conference that took place on the Google campus in Mountain View, California. Speakers included electric car and space entrepreneur Elon Musk, as well as the director of Google.org, the charitable arm of Google. The keynote speaker was Oxford philosophy professor William MacAskill, who founded the effective altruist organizations 80,000 Hours and Giving What We Can.[4]
There were also two other conferences, one in Oxford, UK with around 300 attendees, and the other in Melbourne, Australia with around 100. According to MacAskill, holding conferences internationally "helps to ensure that EA is a global unified network".[4]
EA Global 2016 was held on the UC Berkeley campus in August 2016. The conference attracted more than 1000 attendees and 80 speakers.[5] There were also plans for a series of smaller "EAGx Events", similar to the TEDx events, at a number of cities worldwide.[6]
Content
According to an article in the Huffington Post, EA Global 2015 talks included subjects such as "global poverty, animal advocacy, cause prioritization research, and policy change". There were also workshops on choosing careers, Q&A sessions, and panels on running local EA chapters.[4]
At the Google conference, there was a moderated panel, described as a "centerpiece event" and featuring Elon Musk with AI researchers, on the topic of existential risk from artificial general intelligence.[7] Panel member Stuart Russell concluded by saying that AI research should be about "building intelligent systems that benefit the human race".[4] Vox writer Dylan Matthews criticized the event for its perceived focus on existential risk, potentially at the expense of more mainstream causes like fighting extreme poverty.[8]
References
- ↑ "Centre for Effective Altruism Announces Lineup for Effective Altruism Global 2015". Pitchengine. Centre for Effective Altruism. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ↑ "About EA Global". EA Global. Centre for Effective Altruism. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ↑ Pitney, Nico (July 16, 2015). "Elon Musk To Address 'Nerd Altruists' At Google HQ". Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Guan, Melody Y. (August 3, 2015). "Elon Musk, Superintelligence, and Maximizing Social Good: A Weekend at History's Largest Gathering of "Effective Altruists"". Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ↑ "EA Global 2016". EA Global. Centre for Effective Altruism. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ↑ "All EAGx Events". EA Global. Centre for Effective Altruism. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ↑ Townsend, Tess (August 3, 2015). "Elon Musk: AI Is Going to Happen. Let's Prepare For It". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
- ↑ Matthews, Dylan (August 10, 2015). "I spent a weekend at Google talking with nerds about charity. I came away … worried.". Vox Media. Retrieved 4 April 2016.