Here from Non-Trivial.

I'm kinda just a few minutes into this, but the part on factory farming being a neglected concern really got me thinking about something much deeper and much more existential: our lack of appreciation for life as a whole seems like a pretty neglected priority. It's easy and understandable to get hung up on the importance of human life and well being, but it seems unlikely humans are going to last forever. I think it's of utmost importance to keep the flame of life going without regards to our own species. It's easy to be selfish and human centric, but I'd like to think that if aliens found us they would value us as intelligent lifeforms or just lifeforms in general. I'd like to think we'd do the same if we expanded into the stars. I hope that doesn't come off as pretentious and morally self-righteous as I kinda felt typing it. Love any of you that read this either way

Our lack of Empathy for our fellow human being, no matter who or what they are, is and has been our most pressing moral problem since the dawn of civilization.

I'm impressed with human progress but where are the graphs for species extinction, plastics pollution, overfishing, forest destruction, insect numbers, ocean dead zones, etc etc.

I'm so glad we are not all depressed and angry.

Ethics needs to be taught in school.

Will definitely did his research and covered many of the big globe issues . Also reassuring to be reminded that it's not all doom and gloom and how far we've come !

There is nothing new here except presentation -his pitch is perfect for the age of internet billionaires and middle class affluent who like to feel about guilty about their affluence. He'll be an academic superstar but not is not a philosopher in any serious sense. His talk is all about broad bush self improvement - a message we love, that we can progress to a better world .

great talk! i try to stay aware of the futur generations when making big decisions. my life is a very small part of this, but it's all i have. if everyone that has the choice to make a decision for the better should explore their options.

It is so sad to imagine that humanity may not live to realize all the great things listed at 7:11 because of our own self-destruction and the way we neglect the environment...

The biggest moral problem in the world is selfishness. All we think about is me, myself and I. We don't care for others and even when we try to feel like we care for others, it's guided by our own world view or our desire to feel like "I personally" am making a difference. We are more concerned about being cool, being trendy, being free thinking, being able to not be like "those type of people". Our "compassion" is guided by the way we see the way we want the world to be, and not by what other people need. We think way to highly of ourselves, saying, if we only had deeper thoughts and greater discussion, then we will make a difference. If we set up OUR better world, then those people will be better off. We think that "if we think that we are great, we can do great", but in that we continue to put ourselves higher than others. Stop being selfish, stop building your egos, stop thinking you know it all and have the right way. Our own selfishness is ripping this world apart, everyone of us are to blame.

This is an amazing "Ted Talk", "effective altruism" is the direct result of philosophy, the teaching of, in addition to the interest in philosophical conceptualizing of modern global issues. Furthermore, this shows the "true power" of philosophy and it's need for the betterment of humanity.

I heard this young man speak around 2015, and read one of his books shortly after: 'Doing Good Better'. His philosophy (a rather grand term for his idea, I'm afraid) is, as I read it, pretty thin stuff. I clicked on to see if there was any hint of more developed insight but it seems not. It's OK to be super-rich, he suggests, so long as you're giving back via charity. Not so strong on fair systems of taxation, or paying taxes generally, or better governance, or how reducing inequality might actually unleash a whole host of other benefits. Not necessarily insincere, but ultimately rather shallow stuff.

Exactly....These need to be solved

Living in poverty can result in malnutrition, poor health, fewer opportunities for education and increased illness. With an estimated 783 million people living in poverty, eradicating poverty is one of the biggest global issues facing humankind.

Impressive framework for thinking. 👍 hugely underrated ted talk.

I really like two things that he talked about and we are facing them today, he talked about global pandemic and that happened, and he talked about how the ai will be secure ، and here we are today companies work for making ai secure

*T* - _technology_ *E* - _entertainment_ *D* - _design_

crazy how underrated this talk is

Joke aside, I think educational revolution might be a good idea Edit: I doubt we can transform the world in just one generation, or best bet is to educate the younger generation properly and hope for the best, because from what I can see our current educational system is outdated and we also cannot ignore how parents is also a big factor for child mental growth which usually is beyond reach of school Bad parenting is a big problem

Why does this come across as so peculiarly and deeply inauthentic? I'm left extremely disturbed by this individual, but perhaps it's just me.

One of the best 'Ted talks' I have seen and heard!

This video is 12 mins long and was uploaded 1 min ago yet I already see 12 comments saying how good the video is.

The examples to show things improving are based on benefit to humans, whilst one of the three problems listed is of detriment to animals. If correlation means causation (which, admittedly, in most cases it doesn't), the suggestion is surely that as humans better their own lives, they make it worse for the rest of the world, which is a big problem when you consider we can't survive without the rest of it - democracy or not. I saw the point on the graph suggested where nobody lived in poverty, but failed to see any point where anybody but humans were benefited - which is rather isolationist.

I philanthropy really the solution to the biggest problems today? All of our major issues are man-made. Apart from to some extent health issues. But in his example of helping philanthropically with factory farming?? Throwing more money at it isn’t going to help. Companies and corporations that created generations of fast food eaters need to change so that they stop needing to house billions of animals in torturous conditions. Ethics really is the key. And when people set out to make money, ethics is very often thrown out the window.

good thing to watch during covid

Thanks for creating awareness

I have just been reading George Marshall's book called 'Don't Even Think About It'. I highly recommend it. It is essentially about how to communucate effectively about climate change, but it also applies to talks such as this The book includes information and evidence about why this type of presentation, which is dependent on communicating arguments via a series of graphs is not an effective form of communication for most audiences. I suggest that anyone who is relying on the type of presentation given here reads the book carefully and implements the advice. One thing is to understand know what is important (as the presenter here clearly does). Knowing how to push the buttons of your audience is another thing.

nailed it with a global pandemic

All boils down to the fact that humans in general are untrustworthy. All start with a good intent, but slowly give in to the corruptible practices. Hats off to people like him for thinking on a macro perspective. I hope it triggers thoughts and reactions among the people in charge. :)

1. Existential risks to humanity from artificial general intelligence. 2. Feeding, getting electricity and sanitation to the bottom billion.

Concise and precise, focused on solutions and mutual improvement, rather than fear, competition and division. As poverty disappears hopefully so will resistance to this young man’s ideas. There are still too many of us today barely surviving, expending all our daily energy, too tired to think about or process information like this. We are susceptible to anger and over simplistic excuses for shared misery. Oftentimes fingerpointing is the easiest way to justify failure, bad luck, etc. We need to blame someone, be it the rich, racists, men, poor people, moochers, immigrants, anyone other than ourselves. Its up to the few of us who are able, to help lead the many by example so that we can coexist with better versions of ourselves and develop an environment where more enlightened people can contribute to valuable big picture discussions rather than to basic divisive arguments.

I JUST WISH WE COULD LIVE WITH NATURE AND ANIMALS EVERYWHERE - AS ONE

Money and success are not always more important than morality and ethics. Morality and ethics are not always more important than money and success. I am wavering between these two statements.

Can anyone explain to me about the diminishing returns

A really great speech that gives a clear idea on how to approach when it comes to the approach and problem solving.

Y'all talking about his presentation and i can only think about how sexy is this nerd guy. His voice and his accent makes him look older, but this is somehow a plus.

Am I the only one who find this TED talk so hard?

Like this guy.

Smart man

MacAskill only mentioned technical/environmental threats to humanity's existence. However, the social threats are at least as important -- the cults and ideologies that seek to destroy humanity must also be aggressively eradicated. Humanity's survival is more important than freedom of speech.

It's totally something very concerning because after this ted talk we just see Boirisk like corona pandemic which was definitely created by human interference so yaa i am ready to work on it..... 😊

Most under-rated Ted Talk?

I recommend reading Gideon Lewis-Kraus' article in the New Yorker for a balanced perspective on the effective altruism movement and MacAskill as it's most visible leader. Even as an EA member, it was quite eye opening. The majority of us are, quite frankly, bonkers. We must be careful about the human tendency for philosophical fanaticism, in any community. Here's a taster from the article: "Longtermism also led to some bizarre conclusions. Depending on the probabilities one attaches to this or that outcome, something like a .0001-per-cent reduction in over-all existential risk might be worth more than the effort to save a billion people today."

One of the most important of course is the purchase of legislators by interest groups. Campaign contributions Is One of the most Scandalous Moral thing of a day

These people truely think big. Great ideas overall

here from non-trivial

This is a great TED video.

Simple. Some are all about getting as much as they can to live as luxuriously as they can while ignoring the fact that the rest of the world exists.

that was very insightful and deep!!

If life is a free gift that we do not deserve and have no right to, than we should have the grateful humility to acknowledge that we own nothing, that everything we have belongs to those who have less and be motivated to give all we can give. On the other hand, if life is an unalienable right due and owed to us, than we need to self-actualize, to be all we can be, to earn all we can earn, take all we can take, own all we can own and to be a dictator over all who are on land that we own.

The heart of the human problem is the problem with the human heart. This is self-evident. We all have an innate concept of wanting to do the right thing but are unable to stop doing the contrary. No amount of education, policy making, rule making, conditioning is going to cure this. There's only one 'Way' that problem can be sorted, and His Kingdom started 2000 years ago. Don't get me wrong, I think this talk highlights some really important things, but there's no point in asking if the human race is worth saving based on a concept of "good", if, after pursuing the logic of humanistic materialism to the bottom, you cannot even agree what "good" is, and if it even exists. And after 500 million years (according to Will's talk) it'll be like humans never existed and there'll be nobody to appreciate the pinnacle of the "good" that was achieved, nor recompense for the "non-good" that was dished out. So what's the point? Please re-title the talk "Animated bags of chemicals dealing with 'guilt': a futile discussion about cultural preferences for living"

Lots of wishes from Pakistan 🇵🇰

This young man is a genius, just look up his work so far! I would argue he might as well be from the future! 😄

So good and helpful

it's still worth to watch

the most neglected and pressing moral problem isnt any of those in this video. its actually Wild Animal Suffering

Thanks!

Altruism ? no . facing our responsibility , is not altruism . you not altruist, you are responsible .

Amazing Video, amazing speaker, A+

Here from Non_Trivial🎉

In my opinion, the problems listed in this talk are rather academic and superficial in nature? I dont think we can solve problems based on systems that created those problems. New ideas and practices rather than our current money-driven systems are needed.

effective altruism is only as effective as an informed democracy.

Love should be taught. As a consequence, people who then would love future generations might face the risks of climate change and try to prevent it from becoming worse all together. Parents that don't care about climate change are a contradiction.

I AGREE. IT IS ABOUT TIME TO TEACH CLEARLY IN SCHOOL ALTRUISM REACHES HIGHER HAPPINESS THAN SELF-CENTEREDNESS😀

the better angles of our nature

I believe another selection criteria should also be used: Will the solution of a problem cause the creation of a worse problem, e.g. solve hunger then too many people.

"Continue overpopulating this particular Planet and Humanity will live, forever", is what i heard, in a nutshell. Great idea.

So the most important problems of our time are the ones to come in the future? It makes sense to plan ahead, but that's like neglecting today's crops to plan for next decades harvest.

good presentation

Idealism is a good thing to motivate, but reality is another thing. You can't have universal solutions when there is no universal agreement about the problems. There is no universal moral standard and, lacking this, a moral solution is doomed.

When the human race has reached,through some way, a point where every member has the ability to do anything he desires without hurting anyone else, immortality, unlimited resources, essentially a god-like state, what then? Do we need obsticals to survive ? Some goal for which to live ? Why should sysiphus be happy?

I love some of the things he’s talking about, but I think you have to be completely selfless as Will claims to be to be the best altruist you can be, and that’s why I don’t like the idea of altruism. I read his book a while back called “Doing Good Better” and I specifically remember detesting his radical ideas of taking on jobs that pay better so I can donate more and even going into a profession I don’t like just to be more effective in my altruism. Am I too selfish to donate to things I care about ? No. But I am too selfish to direct my life based on helping other people, at the cost of my own happiness as well. But maybe Will is happy to do these things and it’s not at the cost of his happiness. Personally just not for me, and unfortunately, most humans are like this or much worse.

oh yes, the framework and the driving force behind SBF's FTX. At least sounds great on paper.

Well said!!

This guy recruited SBF lol. Total scam

I had to watch/listen to this video twice... what a cutie! and optimistic !

As an Individual we are able to know every single problem on this earth and it's cause but we do not act on it

Poor funding isn’t always the issue. It’s the people at the top who need fixing. Governments need to start thinking with their hearts and not their wallets.

well there's no point of HUMAN PROGRESS in decriminalizing homosexuality......... thats medically and morally absurd and out of nature!! thats progress in absurdism and immorality!!

Morality cannot be measured, equality can. There's no way to teach fair morals, because there's no absolute that's not up for interpretation. As income decreases and survival needs at the top of the pyramid of needs increases, moral decreases. There's no point in teaching or even HAVING morals, if you're poor. And since currency is a finite entity, capitalism is the distribution of having a lot of rich people, and a lot of poor people instead of everybody being in the middle with wealth distribution like in true communism. This allows for motivation in innovation. But, lets say that there is true equality and people live forever, wouldn't we need to invoke a 1 child policy or even a no child policy? Collectively people will always chase comfort and "Happiness" over scientific progress, it's an American fad. So somehow we have to maintain a balance of both, honestly the amount of money going into useless military equipment is obscene, if that money is pulled then we can all achieve happiness and have scientific development.

Wow, here we are in 2020 and well we are facing global pandemic.

Does anything matter in the end?

whos watching now, about how he is saying our global healthcare is incredible, while there is a global pandemic...

Focus on making the lives of people better in this era and you won't have to worry about the future. Instead of worrying about the future help those who are suffering today.

Missing a key point. You never consider how to determine what is a problem? Your second example Factory Farming is not universally understood to be a problem. My point is your premise fails before it gets off the ground.

oh yeah? where has the American Democracy led those countries which it invaded in the name of spreading democracy?

This young man should talk with Daniel Schmachtenberger.

Great Ideas, but reality predicts that the rate of change for the good will always be cut short when up against the bad.. Yes Mankind has all the tools or resources to make everything better but yet this takes place ever so slowly. IF one wants to see extraordinary change, then one must be able to make extraordinary changes.

The framework based on Big, Solvable, Neglected is a sound formula for considering the big choices facing humanity; a way to test whether a given idea is worthy of attention. Here is my take-away: 1. Big. The enormous size and geographic pervasiveness of human individuals is the largest single driver of all insults to the living system of the Earth. Atmospheric CO2 accumulation, exhaustion of fisheries, excessive land use for meat, water depletion and conflict, - all are increased as a direct function of the number of living people on Earth. 2. Solvable. The obstacle to maintaining a sustainable level of human population is not the lack of a technical solution. It is the collective biological, cultural, and economic drive to procreate, even when knowing that you lack the means to give the children a reliable better life. The role of (temporary) technological solutions to quality and length of life has actually contributed to the unsustainable size of the population, thus creating much of the problem. People react to the proposal of reducing population size because they imagine that such a plan would be implemented through some kind of fascist dictatorship and brutal enforcement. That is not the solution that is implied by the proposal and it would not work. The size of the global population is in peoples hands to solve without new technology, just collective will based on understanding. 3. Neglected. No one seems to be talking about the benefit of a global crash course on population reduction to sustainable levels. In recent history, such movements as zero-population growth have been squashed. Some political forces accuse this proposal as a racist program in disguise (intended supposedly to reduce certain ethnic group populations and take away the Human Right to have families). So global population size is neglected.

This man committed FRAUD

Bravo!!!

Sociology is another’s thought, for evolution to go in a positive way of life.

or go to Vegas like the airline ad that followed this video suggested

The luxury of morality has long since past. The only considerations now are of a practical nature. Will humanity live or will it die. My wager is on the latter.

Money in politics, hands down.

The data presented about progress is skewed. This is when I miss data scientist Hans Rosling. There are discrepancies in each nation as wealth and income disparities are worse than ever

The frame work for this is utterly lacking in philosophical content. He throws around so many statements without any backing. For example why should we value neglected issues more? What is good? Why should we value issues that effect more people as worse? Of course all these questions can be defended on a way that can help his frame work but by not engaging in this discussion he crippled his moral system.

wonderful

Highest priorities are to put in place the systems that allowed the west to become rich. Solve that and all of what is being discussed - health, food, and catastrophes will improve too. Good and just rule of law to give everyone equal rights. Strong deterrence on corruption Decent education without ideology to all children Freedom of speech, freedom of rights, freedom of belief. These are all based on a free and protected judiciary from political interference. A board of judges to overview who are also fully subject to the law. Plus a proper schooling system of independent schools that must achieve certain standards independent of political interference. In many poor countries corruption and political power are what hold the countries back. There are other important institutions such as a police force that is subject to the above rules with those of authority subject to charge if normal officers are highly corrupt, etc. Those countries that systematically try to improve would receive more aid for infrastructure, education, etc. The fewer countries that need assistance means more focus on those who need focus and even enforcement. So the faster some progress the better.