Article (republished on The Free Library) on the history and criticism of Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute, the research center tied to longtermism and existential-risk work, which closed in 2024. The page blocked an automated check, so this description is based on the title.
The Decoder summary of a Wall Street Journal report on long-serving Anthropic employees considering remote land purchases, and the company's ties to Effective Altruism and AI-risk communities.
An essay by Venkatesh Rao (Contraptions newsletter) arguing that the Effective Altruism movement\u2019s framing of AI safety has become a problem in itself: \u201cEA promises to solve AI Safety. Now we have two problems.\u201d Rao draws on nearly two decades of writing alongside the rationalist community, and frames the piece as personal history as well as argument. Rao\u2019s Contraptions newsletter (formerly Ribbonfarm) was tagged \u201cpostrationalist\u201d by Scott Alexander.
Techdirt opinion piece (April 2024) arguing the effective altruism movement shifted its money and attention from global poverty to AI existential risk.
Why I recommend it: Openly argumentative and from 2024. Effective altruists dispute this framing; see Holden Karnofsky's and Luke Muehlhauser's profiles for their side.
An 11 September 2026 announcement post on the Effective Altruism Forum, by Manifund's Austin, saying Caroline Ellison started a work trial on 13 July and moved to a full-time role on 10 August, working on their funding platform and on research into directing philanthropic money. Free to read; heavily debated in the comments.
Why I recommend it: Filed as a primary document, not an endorsement. Caroline Ellison was a central figure in the collapse of FTX and served a prison sentence for fraud; this is the hiring organization's own framing of taking her on. It is worth reading alongside the comment thread, which was strongly negative at the time I added it, if you want to see how a movement argues in public about who it lets back in.
Free long-form Truthdig critique of effective altruism and longtermism, tracing the movement's funding, scandals and eugenic intellectual roots.
From the site: The multibillion-dollar Effective Altruism movement makes rich people feel good about being rich — to hell with the bad publicity.
Why I recommend it: Pointed and openly hostile to its subject. Read it next to the movement's own writing so you can judge which claims are documented and which are argument.
Introductory resource hub for longtermism: explanations, FAQ, further reading and ways to get involved. Explores how protecting future generations can guide research, advocacy and policy today.
From the site: Longtermism is the view that positively influencing the long-run future is a key moral priority of our time.
Philosopher and senior research fellow at Forethought, working on AGI preparedness and longtermism. Co-founded Giving What We Can, 80,000 Hours, the Centre for Effective Altruism and the Global Priorities Institute; author of Doing Good Better and What We Owe the Future.
Émile P. Torres's weekly newsletter examining the ideologies driving Silicon Valley — effective altruism, longtermism, TESCREAL, and the race to build artificial superintelligence — from a critical, insider-turned-skeptic perspective.
From the site: Stop doomscrolling and just read this! Click to read Realtime Techpocalypse Newsletter, by Émile P. Torres, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
A long-form critical essay by Émile P. Torres arguing that the effective altruism movement has become a cult-like ideology with its own doctrines, charismatic leaders, jargon and social controls — and that this matters for how AI is being developed.
From the site: Understanding the "Scientology of Silicon Valley." (7,700 words)
Non-profit with free research on where donations do the most good, plus a public pledge community and evaluations of charities and causes.
From the site: 100x your impact by finding and donating to the best charities. Learn about high-impact philanthropy, join an effective giving community, take a giving pledge.
Why I recommend it: Their cause research is a good model of reasoning under uncertainty, whether or not you pledge. Nothing is paywalled.
A free academic paper examining whether effective altruism's focus on individual giving overlooks institutional and political change as the larger lever.
Why I recommend it: Useful counterweight if you have read the pro-EA material — it argues the case from inside academic philosophy rather than online debate.
