Paul Christiano - Cause Prioritization in Effective Altruism

Cause Prioritization: Many effective altruists place a high degree of importance on working out what the most important cause to support is. This is one way that effective altruism is distinguishable from other traditional altruism or charity.

For example, although there is a growing emphasis on effectiveness and evidence among nonprofits, this is usually done within a single cause in mind, such as education or climate change. It is uncommon for the cause itself to be critically analyzed.

Effective altruists attempt to choose the most effective causes based on broad values such as preventing suffering. They will then put their time and money into actions and organizations that pursue these goals efficiently. Several organizations are doing research on cause selection. Most effective altruists think that currently the most important causes to focus on are poverty in the developing world, the suffering of animals on factory farms, and humanity's long term future.


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