«Shaping the Long-term Future»


Matching Challenge

Have you ever thought about all the future generations following in our footsteps? Have you ever thought about the generations of the humans which have preceded us? There is a good chance you haven't. Until recently, I also haven't done so myself. However, the arguments of some of the best philosophers and effective altruists of our time have made me think hard about it. All the achievements of our civilization are based on an irrepressible craving for knowledge (which has not always led us to good consequences) and the desire to make the world a better place for ourselves and for those around us. One of the greatest strengths of humanity is the accumulation and transmission of knowledge from generation to generation.

It seems to me that we have a responsibility not only to the future generations of humans, but also to the generations that have preceded ours. Do you think your great-grandfather who worked for the benefit of humanity would like to see our world prosper? Would he like to see that, among other things, his efforts have led to billions (and perhaps trillions) of people living fulfilling lives? I think the answer to this question is obvious - no! (I'm kidding, I'm kidding). You may ask yourself what a $20 donation can change. Imagine that even if it was a negligible probability (>0), it was enough to prevent "unfriendly" AI or to spread this very important message to some young genius that would change their career path and prevent an existential catastrophe that would have brought humanity to its knees or destroyed it altogether. It's up to you, of course, but I would be sincerely grateful to everyone who donated at least $20 to one of our three chosen charities (our choice is based on the opinions of leading EA community experts), thereby increasing the likelihood of preventing an existential catastrophe that would negate not only the efforts of our generation, but those of all generations that have preceded ours.

— Roman Romanovskyi