Effective altruism needs more 'megaprojects'

Abstract

Effective altruism, a movement that aims to maximize positive impact on the world, needs more megaprojects, according to a recent tweet thread by Benjamin Todd. While most projects in the effective altruism community are designed to effectively deploy around $10 million per year, the increasing funding overhang necessitates projects capable of deploying $100 million per year. Todd argues that three megaprojects, even if one-third less cost-effective than 10 medium-sized projects, would generate a higher total impact. Megaprojects also offer positive externalities like staff training and increased awareness. Notably, the projects that were the largest before 2015 remain among the biggest today, suggesting that new types of projects, made possible by increased resources, are lacking. While funding and ideas exist, Todd identifies leadership and the generation of more and better ideas as the major bottlenecks. He calls for more entrepreneurs in the field, though he acknowledges that the skills required differ from those in Silicon Valley and that the process is not easy. – AI-generated abstract