Effective Altruism Introductory Seminar

This eight-week seminar involves weekly one-hour discussions with your three to six-member cohort and one facilitator. Before attending each discussion, you’ll complete a set of readings (and sometimes a written exercise). For updates, please subscribe to our mailing list and join our Slack.

The seminar is an intensive and rewarding semester-long program for students to engage with ideas and strategies for effectively improving the world. Participants will combine the head and the heart as they apply rigor and rationality to questions regarding morality and altruism.

Here’s a week-by-week breakdown of what you'll discuss:

  • In week one, participants get to know each other and their facilitator. They explore what EA is and is not, along with the concept of scope insensitivity.

  • Week two explores differences in effectiveness between charities, obstacles to thinking clearly about doing good, and a few specific projects in the global health domain.

  • Week three introduces participants to the idea of expected value, including how to calculate it, reasons to maximize it, and implications for altruistic endeavors. Fermi estimation and a few examples are presented.

  • In week four, participants discuss who we should consider when taking action to do good, with a particular focus on the concept of sentience and the farmed animal welfare cause area. We also use the term “Cause X” to ask what opportunities we could be missing.

  • Week five introduces the term existential risk and explores different scenarios that would constitute existential catastrophe. Pandemics are considered as a case study. Participants also explore career opportunities in this area.

  • In week 6, participants examine the case for taking AI seriously as an existential risk and what it means to develop “aligned” AI.

  • Week seven looks at the philosophy behind projects aimed at making sure the future goes as well as possible: longtermism. How should we consider future beings in our moral framework? Should we devote our resources towards them, or towards those who are alive today?

  • What might we be missing? During week 8, you’ll look at objections to effective altruism, both the philosophy and the practice.

  • Chat with your facilitator to discuss ways for you to stay involved with the effective altruism community, be they future seminars, events, group organizing, or something else.

Who Should Apply?

The seminar is open to all members of the Georgia Tech community. For others, please apply through EA Virtual Programs.

We recommend applying to this program if you:

  • Want to make a large positive impact through your career, giving, or volunteering

  • Can commit 2 hours a week to readings and exercises, in addition to the weekly 1-hour discussions

  • Can attend at least 7 out of the 8 weekly discussion sessions

We are committed to building a diverse group of members. We strongly encourage interested students to apply regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, ability, etc. We also encourage undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, as well as individuals from all intellectual backgrounds and majors to apply.