I think most people reflecting on their own ethical views would say no, would say even if, you know, even if having bonds to your local community gives you some extra reason to help, it's not sufficient to be a, you know, 100 to one multiplier.

And that is in fact the situation that we find ourselves in, where the very most effective ways of benefiting people in poor countries, as we said, it's, you know, a few thousand dollars to save a life.

And now the good fight with Yasha Monk.

How can we do the most good in the world?

What do we owe people?

Not just in your town today, but people who are really far away or people who might live many years in the future.

What are the most critical threats to humanity?

And how can we act today in order to make those less likely to materialize? And finally, what is the promise and also the risk of artificial intelligence?

Why should we take seriously the danger that AI made one day enslave or supplant humanity?

Well, my guest today is the person who founded the movement of effective altruism.

William McCaskill was a professor at Oxford in philosophy for a long time.

He is the author of what we owe the future,

and he has not just founded an influential philosophical current,

but a set of institutions that try to put it in practice.

In the last part of today's conversation,

we talk about some really fascinating issues connected to artificial intelligence.

Do AI models have consciousness?

Are they capable of happiness and suffering?

And if that is the case, do we owe them some kind of moral

consideration? How should we think about a threat of them taking over? For us as humans,

it would be bad, but would it be bad in general? William McArskill is not so sure. Perhaps

it might be something that actually could improve well-being in certain ways under certain circumstances, at least.

...