Effective Altruism: Ten Global Problems is a collection of ten top episodes of the 80,000 Hours Podcast, designed to bring you up to speed on ten pressing issues the effective altruism community is working to solve.Here the host of the show — Rob Wiblin — briefly explains what ef ...Show more
One: Toby Ord on existential risks
In 2020, Oxford academic and 80,000 Hours trustee Dr Toby Ord released his book The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity. It's about how our long-term future could be better than almost anyone believes, but also how humanity's recklessness is putting that future ...Show more
Two: Rachel Glennerster on global poverty
If I told you it’s possible to deliver an extra year of ideal primary-level education for 30 cents, would you believe me? Hopefully not – the claim is absurd on its face.But it may be true nonetheless. The very best education interventions are phenomenally cost-effective, but the ...Show more
Three: Andy Weber on pandemics and nuclear wars
COVID-19 has provided a vivid reminder of the damage biological threats can do. But the threat doesn’t come from natural sources alone. Weaponized contagious diseases — which were abandoned by the United States, but developed in large numbers by the Soviet Union, right up until i ...Show more
Four: Brian Christian on artificial intelligence
Brian Christian is a bestselling author with a particular knack for accurately communicating difficult or technical ideas from both mathematics and computer science.The 80,000 Hours team found his new book The Alignment Problem to be an insightful and comprehensive review of the ...Show more