Effective altruism explained: The AI

Billy Odell Tucker-Robinson Founder & Host — Banking With Billy Network • Intelligence Network • Data Science • AI Research • World News
Published: 2026-09-17T15:27:58.226Z • Permanent link

Effective altruism, a philosophy that seeks to maximize overall well-being, has experienced a resurgence in recent years, particularly in the realm of artificial intelligence. This resurgence is not a coincidence, but rather the result of a deliberate effort by the Trump administration to target and undermine the movement. The key players involved in this story are William MacAskill, a renowned philosopher and advocate for effective altruism, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which has been working closely with the administration to develop a new set of guidelines for research funding.

In 2020, the NIH announced a new initiative aimed at promoting more efficient and effective use of research funding. This initiative, dubbed "Optimism and AI," was designed to encourage researchers to focus on problems that have the potential to benefit humanity as a whole. However, critics argue that this initiative is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to suppress research that is deemed too ambitious or too expensive. One notable example of this is the work of MacAskill, who has been a vocal advocate for the use of AI to solve some of humanity's most pressing problems, including poverty, disease, and climate change.

The Trump administration's efforts to undermine effective altruism have been ongoing for several years. In 2019, the administration announced a new set of guidelines for research funding, which effectively eliminated funding for many projects that were deemed too expensive or too ambitious. This move was seen as a significant blow to the effective altruism movement, which has long argued that researchers should be given the freedom to pursue projects that have the potential to benefit humanity, regardless of cost. The NIH's new initiative is seen by many as a response to these criticisms, and a further attempt to strangle the effective altruism movement.

The impact of the Trump administration's efforts to undermine effective altruism is far-reaching and significant. In the Data Sources domain, companies and research communities that have been focused on developing AI solutions for some of humanity's most pressing problems are being forced to re-evaluate their priorities. For example, the AI company, DeepMind, has been working on a number of projects aimed at developing AI solutions for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's. However, these projects are now facing significant uncertainty, as the NIH's new initiative threatens to cut funding for research that is deemed too expensive or too ambitious.

The research community is also feeling the pinch, as many researchers who have been working on projects that are deemed too expensive or too ambitious are now facing the possibility of losing their funding. This could have significant consequences for the development of AI solutions for some of humanity's most pressing problems. For example, the development of AI solutions for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's requires significant investment in research and development. Without funding, these projects may be put on hold, or even abandoned altogether. This could have significant consequences for public health, and for the overall well-being of society.

The Trump administration's efforts to undermine effective altruism are part of a larger pattern of hostility towards progressive values and ideas. In recent years, there has been a significant backlash against progressive values such as evidence-based policy-making, and the use of data and science to inform decision-making. This backlash has been driven in part by a growing distrust of institutions, and a sense that the current system is rigged against those who are less affluent or less powerful. The NIH's new initiative is seen by many as a response to these criticisms, and a further attempt to strangle the effective altruism movement.