Cause X — what will the new shiny effective altruist cause be?

Abstract

This article describes an event held at the Qualia Research Institute (QRI) entitled “Cause X – What Will the New Shiny EA Cause Be?”. The event consisted of 4-minute presentations from attendees about potential new cause areas for effective altruism, followed by a casual hangout. The presentations focused on diverse topics such as improving well-being measures using smartphones, psychedelic drug decriminalization, timeloop experiences and their moral importance, and the potential social benefits of a privacy-less world. The article also details the prize categories (most likely to prevent suffering, most fun to think about, and most likely to be the plan of a super-villain), the winners, and a few additional cause proposals that were not presented at the event. Finally, the article concludes by offering a brief analysis of the proposed causes, highlighting their potential impact and suggesting further exploration of some of the topics discussed. – AI-generated abstract.