Effe ctive Altruism Global X Berlin S a turday ⁄ Sunday 14 ⁄ 15 October 2017 Program EAGx Berlin Saturday / 14 October 2017 Berlin Institute of Technology (TU Berlin) Room H 2013: Core Topics Room H 2032: Narrow / Technical Topics 14:00 The Why and How of Effective Toward a #FutureFortified: ­Pro­Veg­Interventions How Food­Fortification­Can­Help­ End Micronutrient Malnutrition Sebastian Joy Room H 2013: Core Topics Room H 2032: Narrow / Technical Topics Founder, ProVeg International Beatrice Montesi External Relations Lead, 09:30 Arrival and Registration Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition 10:10 Opening Speech 14:30 Break and Group Picture Stefan Torges 15:10 Harnessing the Power of Academia The­Complex­Nature­of­Pain­ Executive Director, Raising for Effective Giving, Effective Altruism Foundation Michelle Hutchinson and Suffering Project Manager, Global Priorities Institute Dr. Sascha Benjamin Fink 10:40 Break Junior Professor for Neurophilosophy, 15:40 Break University of Magdeburg 10:50 Delivering Development What Does (and Doesn't) AI Mean 16:00 Break Impact at Scale for Effective Altruism? Joanna Macrae Owen Cotton-Barratt 16:20 Ethische Berufswahl — S­Risks:­Why­They­Are­the­ Director of European Partnerships, Research Fellow, Mit­80 000­Stunden­die­Welt­ Worst Existential­Risks,­and­How G iveDirectly Future of Humanity Institute ­verbessern­ DE to Prevent­Them 11:20 Break Nicola Wiggers Max Daniel Effektiver Altruismus Berlin Executive Director, Foundational Research Institute 11:50 Using Evidence to Fight Poverty Nationale Volksinitiative Prof. Christelle Dumas zur ­Abschaffung­der­Massen­ 16:50 Break Chair of Development Economics, tierhaltung­ DE University of Fribourg 17:30 Panel: The Future of Effective Altruism Sophie Kwaß Co-Geschäftsleiterin, Sentience Politics Prof. William MacAskill, Michelle Hutchinson, Max Daniel, Owen Cotton-Barratt Moderation: Stefan Torges 12:20 Break 18:10 Program End 12:40 Lunch Break 20:00 Social Event Program EAGx Berlin Sunday / 15 October 2017 Berlin Institute of Technology (TU Berlin) Room H 2013: Core Topics Room H 2032: Narrow / Technical Topics Room H 2013: Core Topics Room H 2032: Narrow / Technical Topics 08:30 Arrival,­Coffee 13:30 Discussion Rounds 09:00 The New Meat Decision Theory Research at FRI 14:50 Break Peter Verstrate Johannes Treutlein 15:00 Lessons from Building an Wild­Animal­Suffering­Movement­ CEO, MosaMeat Researcher, Foundational Research Institute EA ­Charity:­New­Incentives Building Through Research Caspar Oesterheld Patrick Stadler Persis Eskander Researcher, Foundational Research Institute Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Research Associate, New Incentives Wild-Animal Suffering Research 09:30 Break 15:30 Break 10:00 Current­Status­of­the­ EA ­Movement 16:00 Raising the Stakes: Against Naive Effective Altruism Prof. William MacAskill When Poker Meets EA Lucius Caviola Associate Professor in Philosophy, Liv Boeree PhD Student in Psychology, University of Oxford; CEO, Centre for Co-founder, Raising for Effective Giving University of Oxford E ffective Altruism 16:30 Break 10:50 Break 16:40 Closing­Speech 11:30 Panel: Should Animal AI Strategy and Policy ­Advocates focus­on­Veganism­ Stefan Torges Carrick Flynn or Antispeciesism? Executive Director, Raising for Effective Giving, Effective Altruism Foundation Research Project Manager, Leah Edgerton, Tobias Leenaert, Future of Humanity Institute 17:00 Conference­End Magnus Vinding, Oscar Horta 12:00 Moderation: Jens Tuider Break 12:10 Lunch Break Joanna Macrae — Delivering Development Impact at Scale Joanna Macrae 14 october ⁄ 10:50 — 11:20 ⁄ room H 2013 Director of European Partnerships, GiveDirectly There is a potential revolution in the field of international development. Dr. Joanna Macrae is the Director of It is being driven by better evidence of what works, and by the advent European Partnerships at GiveDirectly, of digital technology. GiveDirectly is harnessing the power of that one of the most innovative and disruptive NGOs in international revolution and changing the face of aid by adopting a radically simple deve lopment. She is a Visiting Fellow approach. It trusts the poor to invest aid themselves, providing them at the Center for Global Development. with cash grants. But bringing this model to scale isn't easy and requires She is recognised internationally for challenging conventional ways of thinking and vested interests. her expertise in humanitarian  policy, research and innovation management. Owen Cotton-Barratt — What Does (and Doesn’t) AI Mean for Effective Altruism? Owen Cotton-Barratt 14 october ⁄ 10:50 — 11:20 ⁄ room H 2032 Research Fellow, Future of Humanity Institute Artificial Intelligence may well be the most radically transformative Owen is a researcher working technology ever developed. If we want to effectively improve the world, for the Future of Humanity it is therefore important. But we have a great deal of uncertainty Institute and the Centre for Effective Altruism. He has about when transformative AI will be developed. a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Oxford. Different strategies for helping the world are appropriate conditional In the last few years much of on different timelines. Collectively, we should pursue a portfolio of all of his research has related these strategies. The best strategies for longer timelines involve many to how to prioritise between activities which are not directly about AI at all. different types of work to reduce existential risk. Prof. Christelle Dumas — Using Evidence to Fight Poverty Prof. Christelle Dumas 14 october ⁄ 11:50 — 12:40 ⁄ room H 2013 Associate Professor in Development Economics, University of Fribourg “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” In designing policies Christelle is Professor of Develop- to relieve poverty, it is crucial to gather evidence that these policies are ment Economics at the University of indeed reaching their goal. We will take some examples of well-intended Fribourg. She seeks to understand how households from poor countries interventions that led to unexpected and sometimes adverse effects. make crucial choices: how many Based on these examples, we will discuss how policies can be evaluated, children to have, whether to send what is required to do so and how sound methodology should always them to school, to have them work … be preferred to prejudice. always asking which policy could improve the wellbeing of these individuals. Her work is empirical and uses data from African and Asian  countries. Sophie Kwaß — Nationale Volksinitiative zur Abschaffung der  Massentierhaltung Sophie Kwaß 14 october ⁄ 11:50 — 12:40 ⁄ room H 2032 DE Co-Geschäftsleiterin, Sentience Politics Wacker hält sich das Bild der idyllischen Schweizer Tierhaltung Sophie Kwass ist Co-Geschäfts- mit  Auslauf und im Inland produziertem Futter, wenngleich auch dort leiterin von Sentience Politics, einer die grosse Mehrheit der Tierprodukte aus Massentierhaltung mit all Schweizer Organisation, die Volks- initiativen für alle empfindungs- ihren verheerenden Konsequenzen für Umwelt, Tiere und Ressourcen- fähigen Wesen durchführt. Sie enga- effizienz stammt. Diese Diskrepanz gilt es aufzulösen und Speziesismus giert sich seit einigen Jahren in der endlich auf die politische Agenda zu setzen. Dafür bietet das Instrument Schweizer Tierrechtsbewegung und der nationalen Volksinitiative, das, wie  allgemein politischer Aktivismus, hat einen Masterabschluss von der von Tierrechtler*innen oft vernachlässigt wird, den idealen Ansatzpunkt: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Beim Sammeln der Unterschriften kann breit mobilisiert und durch öffentlichkeits wirksame Begleitevents einen Mediendiskurs über Speziesis- mus angeregt werden. Während der Abstimmungskampagne bietet sich dann die Chance zur Sensibilisierung der gesamten Bevölkerung, bis ein “Ja” schließlich immenses Leid kon stitutionell vermindern würde. Sebastian Joy — The Why and How of Effective Pro-Veg Interventions Sebastian Joy 14 october ⁄ 14:00 — 14:30 ⁄ room H 2013 Founder, ProVeg International Addressing animal product consumption is one of the most important Sebastian is the founder and CEO of cause areas in terms of scale, neglectedness, and tractability as it causes ProVeg International, an ACE-recom- multiple problems: (1) It subjects billions of sentient individuals to immense mended food awareness organization with the mission to reduce global physical and emotional suffering. (2) It is one of the leading drivers of animal product consumption by 50 % climate change and environmental devastation. (3) It contributes to world by the year 2040. He is also the VP hunger and food injustice. (4) It increases the risk of illnesses and is of the European Vegetarian Union, a responsible for food poisoning, epidemics, and drives up levels of antibiotic co-founder of the Center for Effective resis tance. At the same time, this issue is still largely neglected: only a Vegan Advocacy, as well as a lecturer small fraction of charitable donations are directed towards animal causes; of Nonprofit Management at the and comparatively little of that in turn is directed towards farmed animals. Berlin School of Economics and Law. This is despite the fact that animal agriculture aggravates the very causes that receive much more attention and resources. Luckily, there is a whole range of pro-veg interventions that can help solve these issues, making the promotion and advocacy of plant-based food alternatives a highly- effective multi-problem solution. Beatrice Montesi — Toward a #FutureFortified: How Food Fortification Can Help End Micronutrient Malnutrition Beatrice Montesi 14 october ⁄ 14:00 — 14:30 ⁄ room H 2032 External Relations Lead, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition Despite positive developments in reducing malnutrition over the last Beatrice is the External Relations few decades, hundreds of millions of people globally still do not consume Lead at the Global Alliance for Impro- adequate amounts of essential vitamins and minerals in their diets to ved Nutrition (GAIN). In her role, she advises and supports the leadership sustain good health and development. This is referred to as “hidden team and GAIN country offices in hunger” or micronutrient malnutrition, a major public health problem that advocating for better nutrition for all. is holding back entire communities. Those suffering from hidden hunger Prior to joining GAIN, Beatrice worked may not appear acutely malnourished, but may suffer the consequences at the UN WFP and at Geneva Call. of poor brain development, immune function, and work productivity. Beatrice is a member of the World Food fortification — the practice of adding small and safe amounts Economic Forum Global Shapers Community. of micronutrients to staple foods and condiments — is a simple, scalable and among the world’s most cost-effective development interventions that can help us tackle hidden hunger. It is a powerful nutrition success story that is reaching billions across the world. Michelle Hutchinson — Harnessing the Power of Academia Michelle Hutchinson 14 october ⁄ 15:10 — 15:40 ⁄ room H 2013 Researcher in Philosophy, University of Oxford Although some of effective altruism’s founders are academics, Michelle Hutchinson is setting up EA has up to now mostly spread outside of academia. I will describe the Global Priorities Institute at Oxford the possible power of academia and how important it might be for University. Before taking on that role she was the Executive Director of EA to  engage with it, followed by plans to take advantage of that power Giving What We Can. She has a PhD in and how those plans are progressing. Applied Ethics from Oxford University on prioritisation in global health.