Hi everyone. I lead marketing and communications at CEA, and this is a follow-up to my earlier post on The Altruists. The Netflix drama about FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried comes out on 19 November. Here’s what the trailer shows about how the series portrays effective altruism, our position on Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX, and how we’re preparing for the release.
A note for newcomers: If you’re new to effective altruism (EA) or the EA Forum, welcome! The Effective Altruism Forum is a platform run by the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) to facilitate discussions relevant to effective altruism and coordinate related projects. As before, I’m happy to be a point of contact for questions – feel free to reach out at [email protected]. If you're a journalist, please get in touch with us at [email protected]. If you want to learn more about effective altruism, I recommend you start here: What is effective altruism?
What the trailer shows
Netflix released the trailer for The Altruists on 8 October. The trailer includes clear visual and narrative references to effective altruism. In one scene, Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison wear EA t-shirts at a gathering where the EA logo appears on screen. In another, Bankman-Fried is shown making statements like "a crypto fund that earns to give," and calls the crypto market an "opportunity to do good". The trailer focuses on Ellison and Bankman-Fried and their relationship, with many scenes featuring FTX and Alameda colleagues, most of whom express doubt or fear about the pair's financial recklessness, fraud, and theft of customer funds.
How the series frames EA
Graham Moore, the series’ creator, writer, and co-showrunner, is quoted saying, "I genuinely believe that both Sam and Caroline were deeply committed altruists from day one, who set out to do as much good for as many people as they could in their lives." The trailer and Moore’s comments suggest the series presents EA as a motivating factor for Bankman-Fried and Ellison’s decision to start FTX – though of course this does not necessarily suggest that EA was a motivating factor for their later crimes. We’ll know more as we get closer to the 19 November release.
Our position on Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX
On Sam Bankman-Fried, our position hasn’t changed. We strongly condemn the actions of Bankman-Fried and Ellison and the harm they caused. Our updated page on Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX, and effective altruism covers his connection to EA and how the community responded.
Effective altruism, as a research field and a practical movement, offers people a framework and a set of principles for thinking about how to use their resources to help others as much as possible. Bankman-Fried's behavior went against values central to effective altruism, such as honesty, humility, integrity, and concern for other people. In the years since, leaders in the effective altruism movement have consistently condemned Bankman-Fried’s actions.
What to expect next
In a separate development, Amazon has announced a November launch date for a three-part docuseries called The Boy Who Stole Billions? According to the announcement, the series contains interviews with Bankman-Fried in prison.
This is happening in a communications environment where effective altruism is already in the spotlight, from the cover story of The Economist to discussions and debates over AI regulation.
How CEA is preparing for the release
We're building new resources for people encountering effective altruism for the first time, and coordinating with other groups and organisations in the community on responses to outreach. Our goal is to ensure that accurate, up-to-date information about effective altruism is readily available and easy to find.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at [email protected]. If you're a journalist, please get in touch with us at [email protected].
Perhaps this is a minor point, but to me it feels important for CEA’s article to mention that Will MacAskill handed legitimacy to the Future Fund by running it. At the time Will was considered the EA leader and had a much closer relationship with Sam than the article portrays, and I feel like the article could lead a reader to the misleading conclusion that Sam was a loose cannon, rather than someone held up and promoted at the very core of EA to be an exemplar.
If we fail to appreciate this as a movement, we fail to appreciate why everyone is so mad at us.
I really don't think FTX is the main reason why everyone is so mad at you (read e.g. The Economist article mentioned, or search for "effective altruism" online), I think this should be taken as an opportunity to clarify other common misconceptions, instead of taking even more blame for being associated with some of the organizations that praised SBF for donating a lot of money to charity or advised him on how to donate it