From Business Insider · Georgia Hennessy · · 2m
Effective altruism faces Trump's wrath over AI safety
A Silicon Valley philosophy focused on using money and careers to benefit humanity is clashing with the Trump administration's push for rapid AI development.
In brief
A Silicon Valley philosophy focused on using money and careers to benefit humanity is clashing with the Trump administration's push for rapid AI development. Effective altruism, a movement that emphasizes evidence-based giving and longtermism, has become a political target as it advocates for AI safety measures that…
What is effective altruism
A loose community of people who use evidence and reason to determine how best to use money and careers to benefit humanity. It grew from philosopher Peter Singer's 1972 essay arguing that affluent people have a duty to prevent suffering.
The movement evolved toward longtermism
Early effective altruism focused on measurable interventions like malaria prevention and cash transfers. Over time, a faction embraced longtermism, prioritizing safeguards against catastrophic risks like pandemic preparedness, nuclear threats, and AI dangers.
Silicon Valley embraced the movement
Tech leaders like Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna became major funders through Coefficient Giving. Effective altruism's data-driven approach resonated with an industry built on optimization and scale.
Bankman-Fried damaged the movement
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried became effective altruism's most visible example of earning to give, pledging billions to the movement. His 2022 FTX collapse and 2023 fraud conviction, earning him a 25-year sentence, badly damaged the movement's credibility.
AI boom created new wealth
Soaring AI valuations produced a fresh wave of donors. The Financial Times reported that effective altruism-linked giving reached roughly two billion dollars in 2025, with more than 60 current and former Anthropic employees pledging part of their income.
Effective altruism shaped AI safety
Effective altruism-linked funders helped turn AI safety into a legitimate field, financing alignment research and supporting groups that evaluate advanced models. Major donors including Moskovitz and Tallinn invested in Anthropic, which emphasizes safety and evidence-based thinking.
Trump rejects AI safety concerns
Trump called AI extinction fears a hoax and warned that slowing development would cede ground to China. His administration posted Americanism, not effective altruism on X, and advisor David Sacks accused effective altruism groups of forming a Doomer Industrial Complex.
“Americanism, not effective altruism.”
Effective altruism became shorthand for caution
In the fight over AI regulation, the movement's links to the AI safety industry mean effective altruism has become shorthand for the caution that rapid-development advocates want to push past. Vice President JD Vance suggested industry calls for regulation might be a Trojan horse to burden smaller competitors.
The main idea
Effective altruism, a movement that emphasizes evidence-based giving and longtermism, has become a political target as it advocates for AI safety measures that conflict with Trump's vision of American tech dominance.
