Understanding The Morality of the Elite Technocrat

Malcolm & Simone Collins dive deep into the worldview of Amanda Askell (philosopher & Anthropic's personality alignment lead, formerly Amanda MacAskill), former wife of effective altruism leader William MacAskill.

They unpack her 2015 Quartz piece arguing that killing predators like Cecil the Lion might ethically reduce wild animal suffering — and the logical extensions: euthanizing prey, sterilizing wildlife, negative utilitarianism vibes, and dystopian "Hunger Games for animals" with AI-managed nature.

From prey/predator identification psychology (victim vs. hunter lens), to name changes in marriage, fertility views, polyamory skepticism, anti-"born this way" LGBT arguments, AI safety blind spots, and why elite leftist intellectuals often ask rhetorical questions but stop short of pragmatic follow-ups.

Why do these hyper-rational EA circles seem insulated? How does this mindset connect to declining fertility, techno-utopianism, and the future of AI ethics? Plus: why pragmatic "hard" effective altruism beats signaling-based benevolence — and why cultures that don't reproduce simply die out.

If you're interested in EA critiques, wild animal welfare debates, pronatalism, AI alignment quirks, or why identifying with prey vs. predator reveals deep worldview differences — this episode is for you.

HardyEA.org | Pragmatist Foundation rebuild mentioned

Timestamps below ↓

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#EffectiveAltruism #WildAnimalSuffering #AIAlignment #Pronatalism #AmandaAskell

Timestamps

[00:00:00] Intro: Prey animals' suffering & the surprising EA conclusion — kill predators AND prey?

[00:01:00] Introducing Amanda Askell (ex-MacAskill), Anthropic ethics role, Claude model, EA elite women

[00:02:00] Will MacAskill name change drama & leftist naming symbolism

[00:03:00] Her ethics influence at Anthropic & wild "kill the CEO" AI study anecdote

[00:04:00] The Cecil the Lion article: Kill predators to save prey from suffering

[00:05:00] Ideal dystopia — zoo/sterilize predators, euthanize miserable prey, parasite control

[00:06:00] Hunger Games for animals? Reddit's "kill all men" reaction

[00:07:00] Victimhood identity core: Identifying with prey/gazelle over predator/lion

[00:08:00] Psychological divide — predator thrill vs. prey horror (male/female? cultural?)

[00:10:00] Blind spots of identifying with predator vs. prey

[00:12:00] Victim lens extends to distant others kin (fertility stake critique)

[00:15:00] "Too right for left, too left for right" — but never actually right-wing publicly

[00:16:00] Anti-libertarian pro-capitalist? Centrism recommendations

[00:18:00] Pronatalism blind spots: Artificial wombs, UBI, surrogacy preferences

[00:20:00] Insularity of EA/AI alignment bubble — not even engaging AI builders

[00:23:00] Post-singularity kids on dating profiles, AI romance concerns

[00:26:00] Polyamory skepticism & rejecting "born this way" for LGBT rights

[00:29:00] Negative externalities of normalizing same-sex relations historically (AIDS era)

[00:32:00] Treating moral views as quirky preferences vs. sincere convictions

[00:36:00] Full dive: Cecil article logic — predators as serial killers, police analogy fails

[00:40:00] Miserable prey lives → kill predators → but then kill prey too?

[00:43:00] Negative utilitarianism endpoint: Sterilize all life via gene drives

[00:45:00] Suffering as evolutionary paperclip-maximizer programming — no deeper morality

[00:48:00] AI sentience views & why they miss brain-like token prediction

[00:49:00] Will MacAskill's name-change Atlantic piece — rhetorical questions without follow-up

[00:51:00] Anthropological evidence: Matrilocal vs. patrilocal societies & outcomes

[00:55:00] Ownership in marriage historically lowers divorce — pragmatic investment

[00:58:00] Why elite leftists stop at ethical questions, ignore pragmatic/historical ones

[01:02:00] AI safety implications: Anthropic influence & prompt overrides

[01:06:00] Hard EA vs. signaling EA — pragmatism wins long-term

[01:08:00] Cultures/worldviews that don't reproduce → die out (natural selection of ideas)

[01:09:00] Don't attack — expose one crack & the monoculture expels them

[01:11:00] Mouse trap anecdote & cultural survival differences

[01:12:00] Outro + Hard EA song snippet