What we do in our sessions
Each session is 30 minutes, on a Wednesday from 9 to 9:30 pm in the LC Foyer. We read something short together at the start, so you don't need to prepare anything. Session 1 is this term, sessions 2 to 5 are in Term 2, and session 6 is in Term 3.
Doing good on purpose
Caring about a problem and actually helping with it are two different things. We look at how much the world has changed since 1990, and why.
The African side of it
Child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa have fallen by more than half since 1990. Vaccines, bed nets and better care did most of that work. What made those programmes succeed?
What we read
- On Caring, Nate Soares
- The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better., Our World in Data
What we discuss
- What problem have you cared about without doing anything about it?
- Is it possible to care about a million people the way you care about one?
- Which change since 1990 surprised you most?
Comparing ways of helping
Two programmes can cost exactly the same and still do very different amounts of good. We look at how people compare them.
The African side of it
New Incentives gives families in northern Nigeria small cash payments when their children get vaccinated. GiveWell rates it one of the most cost-effective charities it knows of.
What we read
- Giving 101, GiveWell
- The moral imperative toward cost-effectiveness in global health, Toby Ord
What we discuss
- Why might a well-meaning charity do very little good?
- What would convince you a programme works?
- Is it cold to compare lives with numbers, or is it more caring?
Who should we care about?
How far should we care - about strangers, about people who are not born yet, about animals? We talk about where we draw the line and why.
The African side of it
Chicken farming is growing fast across Africa as cities grow. The choices made in the next decades will affect billions of animals.
What we read
- Radical empathy, Holden Karnofsky
- Factory farming (summary), 80,000 Hours
What we discuss
- Who did people in the past leave out, that we now include?
- Who might we be leaving out today?
- Does distance change how much someone matters?
The biggest risks
Some risks are unlikely but could affect everyone, like pandemics and very powerful AI. We talk about how seriously we should take them.
The African side of it
The 2014 to 2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa killed more than 11,000 people. Health workers in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone learned lessons the whole world used during COVID.
What we read
- Preventing catastrophic pandemics (summary), 80,000 Hours
- AI risk (summary), 80,000 Hours
What we discuss
- What made Ebola hard to stop, and what finally worked?
- How do you weigh a small chance of a huge disaster?
- Who in Africa should have a say in how AI is built?
Is effective altruism wrong?
We read a strong critique of effective altruism and debate it. The motion: you should give to the most effective charity, not to your own community.
The African side of it
Most money in effective altruism comes from outside Africa. Who should decide what Africa needs, and how?
What we read
- The deaths of effective altruism, Leif Wenar, WIRED
- Reflections on bottlenecks facing potential African EAs, EA Forum
What we discuss
- What is the strongest point the critique makes?
- Where do you think it goes wrong?
- What would an African-led version of this movement look like?
What can I actually do?
We talk about degrees, careers and next steps, and everyone leaves with one thing they want to try.
The African side of it
A lot of the people working on these problems are Africans, working in Africa. We talk about where each of us could fit in.
What we read
- Key ideas, first section, 80,000 Hours
What we discuss
- Which problem from the programme do you keep thinking about?
- What could you learn at university that would help with it?
- What is one thing you will do in the next month?