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CultureQuiet 3d · day 4

Trey Goff's viral X thread brands effective altruism "evil"

A widely shared essay argues EA's longtermist math forces followers toward extreme, present-suffering-dismissing conclusions.

newest coverage 3d agosummary written 3d ago2 pieces99 likes & upvotes13 comments XHacker News

What to know

  • Goff frames the critique as an attack on the ideology, not on individual EAs, whom he calls 'thoughtful, high integrity people.'
  • The core argument: EA's utilitarian math, applied without discounting future beings, makes reducing AI existential risk the only ethically consequential act, sidelining present suffering.
  • The essay gained significant traction on X (score 86) but only minor pickup on Hacker News (score 2, no comments), limiting visible public debate in the provided evidence.

Trey Goff Author of the essay / X user (@thetreygoff)

Trey Goff's viral X thread brands effective altruism "evil"
x.com

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump posts

Peak 1 piece in one hour at Sep 19, 11 PM; 2 pieces over 4 days (2 posts) Sep 19, 11 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — X 1Sep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 1 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 3 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 5 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 7 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 9 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 11 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 1 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 3 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 5 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 7 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 9 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 11 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 1 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Sep 21, 3 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 5 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 7 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 9 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 3 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 9 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 7 AM — quiet 12
Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 8:50 AM ET
  1. 2

    Thread is cross-posted to Hacker News under "Effective Altruism Is Evil"

    The same essay is shared to Hacker News, where it registers a low score and no comments, in contrast to its wider traction on X.

  2. 1

    Trey Goff posts thread calling EA "a patently evil philosophy"

    Goff argues that effective altruism's longtermist calculus, which weighs quadrillions of hypothetical future beings against currently living people, logically compels adherents to treat AI existential risk reduction as the only morally consequential action.

    “Effective Altruism (EA) is a patently evil philosophy. Better we all find this out now rather than later…”
    — Trey Goff

    • Effective Altruism (EA) is a patently evil philosophy Better we all find this out now rather than later

      @thetreygoffX4d ago86▲view on X ↗