In academic philosophy, people make rigorous arguments and care about quality reasoning. But the discipline isn’t focused on actually making changes in the world, or even trying to convince *other* people to actually make changes. It’s theoretical by design. I think philosophy is awesome, and honestly, I miss it. But I wanted to move beyond thinking about ethics to actually making the world better.
At that first
EA Global conference, I met someone at a workshop about factory farming. They argued that it was actually worse to eat chickens than it was to eat cows, because more chickens would have to die per calorie of chicken meat versus beef. I hadn't heard people apply quantification to moral choices like that before. It struck me as her being really *serious* about the actual effects on the world of our actions. This person clearly cared about sparing actual animals from suffering; to me, it felt like she was living a moral life in a way I was not, and I wanted to be more like her.
In my role at 80,000 Hours, I now focus especially on the most pressing issues arising from transformative AI, especially existential risks to humanity. Our organization’s name comes from the fact that on average, people work 80,000 hours in their careers. That's a lot of time. We offer research and support to people who want to do good with their careers to help them tackle the most consequential issues out there.
"For most people, the time they spend at work is the biggest resource they have at their disposal to make the world better."
One of our classic lines is: don't follow your passion. For one thing, passion changes. We see people get passionate all the time about moving the needle on issues they didn’t even know about when they were younger. If your goal is improving the world, or even just having a fulfilling career, it's usually better to start by thinking about what the world needs, then figuring out how your passion can meet that.
Check out 80,000 Hours if you’re interested in combating existential risks. Go to an EA Global and meet people who might inspire you. Start exploring and figuring out what you really think and value, and what it would mean for you to dedicate a chunk of what you have to offer — time, money, thoughts — to helping the world.
