Skip to Content

We publish blog posts to explain our general philosophy on giving, reflect on our progress thus far, announce our plans for the future, and more.

Blogs

Some Background on Our Views Regarding Advanced Artificial Intelligence

By

Holden Karnofsky

/

Blog Posts

/

May 6, 2016

We’re planning to make potential risks from advanced artificial intelligence a major priority in 2016. A future post will discuss why; this post gives some background. Summary: I first give our definition of “transformative artificial intelligence,” our term for a type of potential advanced artificial intelligence we find particularly relevant...
Continue Reading

Potential Risks from Advanced Artificial Intelligence: The Philanthropic Opportunity

By

Holden Karnofsky

/

Reflections

/

May 6, 2016

It seems to me that AI and machine learning research is currently on a very short list of the most dynamic, unpredictable, and potentially world-changing areas of science. It seems to me that AI and machine learning research is currently on a very short list of the most dynamic, unpredictable, and potentially world-changing areas of science.1 In particular, I believe that this research may lead eventually to the development of transformative AI, which we have roughly and conceptually defined as AI that precipitates a transition comparable to (or more significant than) the agricultural or industrial revolution.
Continue Reading

Our Progress in 2015 and Plans for 2016

By

Holden Karnofsky

/

Blog Posts

/

April 29, 2016

This post compares our progress with the goals we set forth a year ago, and lays out our plans for the coming year. In brief: Our 2015 goals revolved mostly around building our staff capacity, and particularly around hiring. Broadly speaking, we mostly accomplished our goals, though we significantly scaled...
Continue Reading

Hits-Based Giving (2016)

By

Holden Karnofsky

/

Reflections

/

April 4, 2016

One of our core values is our tolerance for philanthropic “risk.” Our overarching goal is to do as much good as we can, and as part of that, we’re open to supporting work that has a high risk of failing to accomplish its goals. We’re even open to supporting work...
Continue Reading

Initial Grants to Support Corporate Cage-free Reforms

By

Lewis Bollard

/

Blog Posts

/

March 31, 2016

When I started as the Open Philanthropy Project’s Farm Animal Welfare Program Officer in October, I decided to prioritize investigating opportunities to speed up the corporate transition away from using eggs from caged hens. Based on that investigation, the Open Philanthropy Project recommended three grants, totaling $2.5 million over two...
Continue Reading

Supporting the Launch of the Alliance for Safety and Justice

By

Helen Toner

/

Blog Posts

/

February 10, 2016

The Open Philanthropy Project has recommended a grant of $1.75 million (plus a personal gift from Cari Tuna of $250,000) to launch the Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ), a multi-state policy reform organization. This will be one of our first large grant recommendations within criminal justice reform since Chloe...
Continue Reading

Our Grantmaking So Far: Approach and Process

By

Helen Toner

/

Reflections

/

February 9, 2016

We’ve written previously about our approach to choosing focus areas for the Open Philanthropy Project, and we’ve described the advantages that working within causes (as opposed to being open to making grants in any area at any time) has for grantmaking. To date, however, we haven’t said much about our...
Continue Reading

America’s Recently Heralded Urban “Crime Wave” May Already Have Peaked

By

David Roodman

/

Blog Posts

/

February 2, 2016

Writing in the Wall Street Journal last May, the Manhattan Institute’s Heather Mac Donald blackly heralded a “new nationwide crime wave.” She blamed the “Ferguson effect”: a pull-back by police in the face of public hostility over alleged abuses. Ferguson, of course, is the city in St. Louis county where in August...
Continue Reading

Should the Open Philanthropy Project be Recommending More/Larger Grants?

By

Holden Karnofsky

/

Blog Posts

/

November 17, 2015

Editor’s note: Coefficient Giving was formerly a part of GiveWell under the name “GiveWell Labs,” and later operated as Open Philanthropy. This post originally appeared on the GiveWell Blog; uses of “we” and “our” in the below post may refer to GiveWell. Some content may be outdated; you can see...
Continue Reading

Differential Technological Development: Some Early Thinking

By

Nick Beckstead

/

Blog Posts

/

September 30, 2015

Editor’s note: Coefficient Giving was formerly a part of GiveWell under the name “GiveWell Labs,” and later operated as Open Philanthropy. This post originally appeared on the GiveWell Blog; uses of “we” and “our” in the below post may refer to GiveWell. Some content may be outdated; you can see...
Continue Reading