Alexander Zaitchik on Effective Altruism + Longtermism

As the news that thirty year-old cryptocurrency baron, Sam Bankman-Fried‘s, FTX empire suddenly collapsed, the residual effects reverberated in the spheres of business, politics and philanthropy. Bankman-Fried was one of the largest donors to and a huge proponent of effective altruism, a social and philosophical movement started by academics Peter Singer, Toby Ord, and William MacAskill. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to author and journalist Alexander Zaitchik to learn more about the effective altruism movement and its offshoot known as “longtermism.” We discuss how longtermism sprung from effective altruism, how the downfall of Bankman-Fried might change the mega-philanthropy space moving forward, and how the movement all too often ignores the immediate threat of climate change. 00:01 Narrator –  This is Sea Change Radio, covering the shift to sustainability. I’m Alex Wise. 00:25 Alexander Zaitchik (AZ) – Yes they have pretty strong recruitment at elite universities. Very ambitious people, but I don’t think it’s because those people are drawn to philanthropy so much as to the extent that I’ve had experience with them, it’s as much as anything, a veneer for ambition and it basically can offer sainthood to people who just want to make a lot of money. 00:52 Narrator – As the news that thirty year-old cryptocurrency baron, Sam Bankman-Fried’s, FTX empire suddenly collapsed, the residual effects reverberated in the spheres of business, politics and philanthropy. Bankman-Fried was one of the largest donors to and a huge proponent of effective altruism, a social and philosophical movement started by academics Peter Singer, Toby Ord, and William MacAskill. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to author and journalist Alexander Zaitchik to learn more about the effective altruism movement and its offshoot known as “longtermism.” We discuss how longtermism sprung from effective altruism, how the downfall of Bankman-Fried might change the mega-philanthropy space moving forward, and how the movement all too often ignores the immediate threat of climate change. 02:02 Alex Wise (AW) – I’m joined now on Sea Change Radio by Alex Zaitchik. He is a journalist and author. His latest book is called “Owning the Sun. Alex, welcome to see change radio. 02:12 Alexander Zaitchik (AZ) – Great to be here. Thanks for having me. 02:14 Alex Wise (AW) – So you have a piece that was pretty prescient in the New Republic published in late October, entitled The Heavy Price of Longtermism, and I say it was a little prescient because this was before the Sam Bankman-Fried. FTX scandal really unfolded in full view, so you must ha