I was wondering if someone here has a better idea of how EA developed in its early days than I do.
Judging by the link I posted, it seems like Yudkowsky used the term “effective altruist” years before Will MacAskill or Peter Singer adopted it. The link doesn’t mention this explicitly, but Will MacAskill was also a lesswrong user, so it seems at least plausible that Yudkowsky is the true father of the movement.
I want to sort this out because I’ve noticed that a recently lot of EAs have been downplaying the AI and longtermist elements within the movement and talking more about Peter Singer as the movement’s founder. By contrast the impression I get about EA’s founding based on what I know is that EA started with Yudkowsky and then MacAskill, with Peter Singer only getting involved later. Is my impression mistaken?
He’s been doing interviews on podcasts. The NYT also recently listed “internet philosopher” Eliezer Yudkowsky as one of the key figures of the modern artificial intelligence movement.
Sadly he did not wear a fedora in his official NYT picture