Rise of effective altruism

Effective altruism is a philosophical and social movement that uses evidence and careful reasoning to work out how to do the most good with the resources a person has, whether time or money. It grew from the work of philosophers such as Peter Singer, Toby Ord and William MacAskill, and from organisations like GiveWell, which evaluates charities, and Giving What We Can, which encourages donors to pledge a share of their income. Early priorities included global health, particularly the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets, and animal welfare, and later the movement became increasingly concerned with long-term risks such as pandemics and artificial intelligence. It has been criticised for its emphasis on quantification, and its reputation suffered after the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX.

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