What’s Effective Altruism? What Does It Mean for AI?

The expulsion and swift reinstatement of Sam Altman as leader of OpenAI, the artificial intelligence startup he co-founded, was the culmination of a long-brewing clash of worldviews that was masked by the company’s startling success. On one side were the commercial ambitions of Altman and OpenAI’s major partner, Microsoft Corp. On the other were board members who had concerns that AI could one day wipe out humanity. That worry is one driver of the effective altruism movement, which has become an influential force within Silicon Valley and the AI industry.

It’s a movement that aims to use research and reasoning to solve the most pressing global problems for the benefit of the maximum number of people. It reflects the ideas of Peter Singer, a moral philosopher and professor of bioethics at Princeton University, who argues that people should spend their resources saving as many lives as possible, especially in parts of the world where a life can be saved for a relatively low cost. Effective altruism is related to the concept of utilitarianism, an ethical theory that emphasizes maximizing the net good in the world. By the early 2010s, effective altruism had sparked several nonprofits that directed donors to causes such as buying malaria nets in sub-Saharan Africa, donating kidneys to the dying and distributing medical supplies in under-developed countries.