Getting REAL: Rationalism Effective Altruism Longtermism

In this episode of Philosophy Programs and Prompts, Casey Hart ( @OntologyExplained ) and Carl Brown( @InternetOfBugs ) take a deep dive into the "R-E-A-L" half of the TESCREAL acronym (coined by Émile P. Torres and Timnit Gebru): Rationalism, Effective Altruism, and Longtermism.Starting with the intellectual roots of online rationalism—from LessWrong and Eliezer Yudkowsky to the Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR)—the conversation traces how reasonable ideas about cognitive bias, decision theory, and clear thinking evolved into a distinct subculture closely tied to Silicon Valley and artificial intelligence. Next, Casey and Carl examine Effective Altruism, tracing its trajectory from Peter Singer’s thought experiments and GiveWell’s charity evaluations to the "earning to give" ethos that paved the way for figures like Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX). Finally, they analyze Longtermism, addressing how utilitarian maximization can lead to thought experiments involving 10^20 virtual human beings, existential risk prioritizations (from pandemics to AI extinction), and moral blind spots regarding people living in the present.Subscribe for more grounded, hype-free takes from two real humans who know the tech!More info about Casey:https://CaseyHart.com/More info about Carl:https://InternetOfBugs.com/// Sources:* "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" (1972) by Peter Singerhttps://www.abebooks.com/9780190219208/Famine-Affluence-Morality-Singer-Peter-0190219203/plp * "The Most Good You Can Do" (2015) by Peter Singerhttps://www.abebooks.com/Good-Effective-Altruism-Changing-Ideas-Living/32491397359/bd * "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World" (2018) by Anand Giridharadashttps://www.abebooks.com/Winners-Take-Elite-Charade-Changing-World/32517761692/bd * The TESCREAL Acronym — Coined by Dr. Timnit Gebru and Émile P. Torreshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TESCREAL * Cal Newport interview with Emile Torreshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt508VjX2H800:00 - Introduction: Unpacking the "REAL" in TESCREAL02:22 - Rationalism: From Descartes and Empiricism to 2009 Online Culture06:10 - LessWrong, Slate Star Codex, and the Rationalist Canon07:44 - The Methods of Rationality & CFAR Culture13:56 - Why Rationalists Prioritize Artificial Intelligence18:02 - Effective Altruism: Peter Singer and "The Drowning Child"21:28 - Giving What We Can, GiveWell, and Systematic Charity26:38 - "Earning to Give," Silicon Valley, and Sam Bankman-Fried32:07 - Winners Take All: Systemic Impact vs. Individual Charity37:57 - Longtermism: Future Persons, Digital Humans, and Utilitarian Traps43:02 - Utility Monsters, Experience Machines, and Moral Edge Cases47:20 - Shifting Priorities: How 80,000 Hours Pivoted from Pandemics to AI53:48 - Non-Falsifiability, Religious Parallels, and Pascal's Wager01:00:13 - The Silicon Valley Social Web: Anthropic, Polycules, and Interconnection01:04:43 - Final Thoughts: Grounding Big Ideas in the Real World#Philosophy #TESCREAL #EffectiveAltruism #Rationalism #Longtermism #AIEthics #ArtificialIntelligence #LessWrong #PeterSinger #Podcast