William MacAskill

What they argue

William MacAskill is a thinker who works at the intersection of ethics, effective altruism, and long-termism. He explores how moral intuitions can be aligned with the realities of a modern world characterized by rapid technological growth and global risks.

1. Long-termism

   This is the belief that the interests of future people are just as important as the interests of people living today. It argues that our current actions have a disproportionate impact on the trillions of potential future conscious beings.

   From #292 — How Much Does the Future Matter? (episode)

2. Moral Weight of the Future

   MacAskill argues that our moral intuitions are fundamentally misaligned because evolution designed us to care about a small, local tribe. We must recognize the moral weight of the future to overcome this 'moral blindness.'

   From #292 — How Much Does the Future Matter? (episode)

   • A related idea Max Tegmark — The Evolutionary Mismatch of IntuitionHuman intuition is fundamentally unsuited for understanding the universe because our brains evolved to survive on a 'human scale' rather than to comprehend subatomic…#18 — The Multiverse & You (& You & You & You...)

3. Moral Equivalence of Distance

   This concept asserts that there is no moral difference between saving a child in your own backyard and saving a child in a distant country. It aims to strip away the psychological biases that make us prioritize local concerns over global ones.

   From A New Way to Think About Your Money | William MacAskill (episode)

4. Salience Bias

   Our current way of thinking about money and the future is flawed because we tend to care more about things that are close to us, such as our immediate family or local community. This bias creates a 'moral friction' that can lead to paralysis in philanthropic decisions.

   From A New Way to Think About Your Money | William MacAskill (episode)

   • A related idea Adam Phillips — The Trap of ObjectificationHumans suffer from a 'solipsistic' bias where we treat others as 'non-player characters' or objects of our needs rather than subjects with their own lives. Kindness is…On kindness

5. Earning to Give

   This is a strategy where an individual takes a high-paying career, such as quantitative trading, specifically to donate a large percentage of their earnings to high-impact charities. It shifts the focus toward maximizing the total amount of good one can do.

   From #361 — Sam Bankman-Fried & Effective Altruism (episode)

6. Reasoned Benevolence

   To ensure philanthropic efforts remain grounded in ethics rather than just 'good vibes,' MacAskill suggests a framework of evidence-based selection. This involves using organizations that provide clear metrics and evidence for their impact.

   From #361 — Sam Bankman-Fried & Effective Altruism (episode)

Every idea names the summary it came from. Written by a local model from this mind’s own work, never from memory.

Interviews 3

• #361 — Sam Bankman-Fried & Effective Altruism · Making Sense With Sam Harris — The collapse of FTX and the actions of Sam Bankman-Fried do not invalidate the core principles of Effective Altruism…
• #292 — How Much Does the Future Matter · Making Sense With Sam Harris — We have a moral obligation to protect the interests of future generations because we are living in a unique 'hinge…
• A New Way to Think About Your Money William MacAskill · 10 Percent Happier — Effective altruism challenges our moral biases by arguing that we have a moral obligation to give away a significant…