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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

Radical Empathy

By

Holden Karnofsky

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Reflections

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February 16, 2017

This 2017 essay outlines our early approach to global humanitarianism — the view that people have intrinsic value regardless of the circumstances of their birth (and that animals’ lives have value, too).
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Worldview Diversification (2016)

By

Holden Karnofsky

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Reflections

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December 13, 2016

Editor’s note: This article was published under our former name, The Open Philanthropy Project. Some content may be outdated. You can see our latest writing here. Holden Karnofsky is a co-founder and the former CEO of Open Philanthropy. He left Open Philanthropy in April 2024. In principle, we try to find the best giving...
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Efforts to Improve the Accuracy of Our Judgments and Forecasts

By

Luke Muehlhauser

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Reflections

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October 25, 2016

Editor’s note: This article was published under our former name, The Open Philanthropy Project. Some content may be outdated. You can see our latest writing here. Our grantmaking decisions rely crucially on our uncertain, subjective judgments — about the quality of some body of evidence, about the capabilities of our...
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Three Key Issues I’ve Changed My Mind About

By

Holden Karnofsky

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Reflections

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September 6, 2016

Editor’s note: This article was published under our former name, The Open Philanthropy Project. Some content may be outdated. You can see our latest writing here. Holden Karnofsky is a co-founder and the former CEO of Open Philanthropy. He left Open Philanthropy in April 2024. Philanthropy – especially hits-based philanthropy – is driven by...
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Potential Risks from Advanced Artificial Intelligence: The Philanthropic Opportunity

By

Holden Karnofsky

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Reflections

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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.
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Hits-Based Giving (2016)

By

Holden Karnofsky

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Reflections

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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...
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Our Grantmaking So Far: Approach and Process

By

Helen Toner

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Reflections

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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...
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Open Philanthropy Project Update

By

Holden Karnofsky

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Reflections

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September 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...
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Key Questions about Philanthropy, Part 3: Making and Evaluating Grants

By

Holden Karnofsky

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Reflections

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July 22, 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...
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