Some ways of doing good work far better than others.
Effective altruism (EA) is a global community of individuals working to find and implement the best ways to improve human, animal, and planetary wellbeing. We think seriously about how we can use our resources, skills and passions to do the most good as individuals, and we support each other in carrying out personal or shared goals that emerge.
What we do
Weekly meetup
We hang out, discuss readings, debate cause prioritization, and have meta-topic discussions. Some weeks, a professor, policymaker, or EA-aligned professional will drop in for a conversation (this will be noted in advance). Other weeks, we will ask ourselves questions such as "Where does value come from," "Should we all be vegans?" or "Should we be risk neutral?". And still other weeks, we'll deep-dive into a subject such as Global Health or AI Risk. Suggest a topic here!
Topic-based reading circles
If we note significant interest in a specific cause area within EA, we'll create topic-specific reading circles. Should we find the same with action-based interests such as donor pledges, founding, research, or advocacy, we'll create workshops or a separate recurring meeting just to support that initiative.
Career-building support
We provide:
- 1:1 brainstorms
- Personalized connections and network-building support
- Access to a semi-exclusive internship network
- Support in applying for EA Fellowships and EA Conferences
- Connections to several EA-aligned research programs
- Connection to startup-building support on campus
Socials
Once a month, no agenda.
Our values
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Lead with curiosity.
We welcome disagreement in discussions, but disagreement must be productive. Rather than trying to aggressively persuade, we aim to learn.
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Aim towards truth.
In an extremely complex world, we are humble enough to know that there is rarely a "right answer." Despite the fuzzy data available to us, we nevertheless aim to discover truth.
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Avoid "must" arguments.
Effective altruism often involves considering or proposing moral arguments about what individuals should do, given the existence of shared core values and evidence. However, should does not mean must. What this means is that we do not pressure each other to act in certain ways. We are here to learn and inspire each other, not to pressure or strongarm.
Our team
Who it's for
We primarily serve undergraduates and graduate students, but postdocs, faculty, and staff are more than welcome. Reach out if you'd like to present your work, lead a seminar, or simply attend!
Events
What's coming up.
Calendar not loading? It's probably still private — or open it directly in Google Calendar.
FAQs
What is effective altruism?
The attempt to work out how to help others as much as possible with the resources you have, and then actually do it. In practice that means taking evidence and scale seriously when choosing what to spend one's time or money on — asking not just whether something helps, but how much, and how it measures up to alternatives. You don't need to know any of this before turning up; we are first and foremost a place to learn, inspire each other, and have fun. If you want to learn more, here's a link to more information.
Do I have to donate anything?
No. Some members choose to give a small percentage of their income, but plenty do not. There are a million ways to increase your marginal effect on the world; donating does not have to be one of them. In fact, you don't have to do anything in particular with your time or money to be a welcome member of our EA group, though we'll ask that you approach the topic of doing good with serious consideration and curiosity.
Isn't this the thing that blew up with the crypto fraud?
You're thinking of FTX, whose founder was a prominent donor. It was a serious scandal and it prompted a lot of hard argument inside the movement about deference, risk-taking and institutional accountability. We talk about it openly rather than around it in the EA community. The scandal does not define the EA movement as a whole, but rather the actions of an individual. The EA Forum keeps a running page on the collapse that collects the community's own arguments about it, including the critical ones.
Is this only about AI?
No, though AI risk gets more airtime than it used to. There are several hot topics in EA, and we'll talk about them, but we'll also challenge them, suggest topics we feel are too neglected, come up with our own ideas, and talk about the limitations of research and reason in identifying which interventions and strategies help the world the most.
Get involved
If you're interested in participating, all you have to do is show up to a meeting. But if you're unsure, book a chat with us.
Where we meet
Geisel Library · Tuesdays, 7:00–8:30pm