The drama surrounding Sam Altman’s ouster (and return) from OpenAI will surely be the subject of a future Oscar-winning film. This drama highlighted the philosophy that launched OpenAI and inspires its board members – effective altruism.
According to Center for Effective Altruism, “Effective altruism involves using evidence and reason to determine how to benefit others as much as possible, and acting on that basis. » Effective altruism is a fundamentally utilitarian view, with a particular emphasis on the idea that, because all lives are equally valuable, our humanism must be scientifically calculated to maximize its impact.
Effective altruists have been promoters of caution and ethical consideration in the world of AI. On the face of it, this might make them the “good guys” from a Christian perspective, since Christians of all people should care about the moral dimensions of technology, knowing that the dangers of reckless ambition for new heights technologies date back to Babel. Indeed, some sought to pair Christianity with the effective altruistic movement.
Nonetheless, Christians should reject much of the effective altruistic movement. Its aims oppose Christianity for at least four reasons.
- The Bible recognizes different spheres of responsibility
Speaking about the world’s children dying from preventable diseases, Peter Singer, a leading effective altruist, said, “Does it really matter that they are far away? I don’t think it makes a morally relevant difference. In a sense, he is right. The parable of the Good Samaritan shows the need to love strangers and strangers. However, the Bible also presents commandments that give us priority over the people we are to love and serve – for example, our own home (1 Timothy 5:8), the house of faith (Galatians 6:10), and the city in which God has placed us (Jeremiah 29:7). In contrast, effective altruism simply places the greatest moral priority where the greatest impact can be produced.
- The Bible expresses concern for the spirit and soul, not just the body
In trying to get the most out of every charitable donation, effective altruists have identified great causes, like Malaria Foundation. But they focus on charitable work whose effectiveness can be statistically proven, at the expense of work whose effect cannot be so easily measured. Intellectual and spiritual training are not a priority for effective altruists, yet the Bible is full of imperatives to protect the heart and soul and renew the mind. Indeed, these are at the heart of what it means to be human and to help other humans. Forgetting this has led many effective altruists to prioritize animal welfare. One organization that has benefited from this orientation is the Sensitivity Institute, which requires the expansion of the “societal moral circle” to encompass all sentient beings. As Christians, we must not forget the uniqueness of the image of God.
- The Bible rejects the premise of existential risk
Another prominent effective altruist, William MacAskill, founded an organization called 80,000 hours, dedicated to the admirable goal of helping young people make the most of their careers. They “strive above all to help people solve problems that threaten the future of civilization” and claim that “our first priority should be to survive.” Their list of existential risks includes artificial intelligence, artificial pandemics, nuclear war and climate change. Writing; however, he does not care about the possibility that we will end up destroying ourselves. Like the apostle Peter remind us, “By the same word the heavens and the earth which now exist are stored up for fire, and preserved until the day of judgment.” We should think wisely about the power of technology, but it is God who will end this world.
- The Bible values sincerity
Effective altruism implicitly states that if the impact of the donation matters most, then the motivations matter little. Not surprisingly, the effective altruism movement has become a hotbed of hypocrisy. Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX who was convicted of several crimes, was a supporter of effective altruism. A exposed by Time demonstrated the prevalence of polyamory and sexual harassment in the effective altruism movement. Effective altruism is especially popular in the Bay Area among tech leaders who present sleek and brilliant visions of the future. While they signal the virtue of sending money abroad, San Francisco itself has devolved around them in horrific levels of poverty, homelessness and drug use. How far from Paul’s praise of sincere giving.
Why is all this important? In short, effective altruism is a philosophy that shapes the world. It permeates the upper echelons of an emerging industry and influences the flow of millions and millions of dollars. May God grant us the grace to spend wisely what He entrusts to us, not to congratulate ourselves by evaluating its usefulness, but rather so that we can hear the words: “Well done, my good and faithful servant”.
