Safe Water Can't Wait: A Decade of Progress and the Opportunities Ahead
Nov
20

Safe Water Can't Wait: A Decade of Progress and the Opportunities Ahead

Join us on November 20th for this webinar tackling one of the most pressing global challenges of our time. You’ll hear from Evidence Action’s Safe Water Now program leadership about the urgency of the water crisis, the importance of water treatment to ensure its safety, and the immense opportunity we have to improve the health of millions of people.

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Resilience to Catastrophes
Oct
30

Resilience to Catastrophes

In this free online talk, we will hear from Alliance to Feed the Earth in Disasters (ALLFED).

ALLFED seek to identify various resilient food solutions and to help governments and companies implement these solutions to feed everyone in the event of a global catastrophe. They focus on events that could deplete 5% or more of global calorie output, or access to those calories. In this talk Dr David Denkenberger and Ana Luísa Monteiro will discuss their research and what they have been working on.

The session will be held both online and in person at the University of Canterbury (Link 309 Lecture Theatre).

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Mental Health in Aotearoa
Oct
22

Mental Health in Aotearoa

Tomorrow, we have Thomas talking about mental health. His presentation will describe what mental health is, the current barriers, challenges and successes in the mental health sector in Aotearoa— and a look into what the future holds.

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Artificial Intelligence vs Artificial Wisdom
Oct
15

Artificial Intelligence vs Artificial Wisdom

This Tuesday, Chris Leong will argue for a provocative thesis: that the ML field’s decision to focus on training increasingly intelligent systems was a crucial mistake.

Chris will make the case that refocusing the field around training wisdom provides a potential path forward, and that training wise AI advisors is a particularly promising path within this.

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Risks at the Intersection of AI & Biology
Oct
8

Risks at the Intersection of AI & Biology

This Tuesday we have Andy Morgan speaking to us about potential risks that might arise at the intersection of AI and biology. Andy is a policy professional whose current work focuses on biotechnology and it's effective regulation.

His talk will cover the potential risks that Large Language Models and biological tools might present, both now and in future, and potential policy options to address there risks.

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State of Play in AI Governance
Sep
17

State of Play in AI Governance

This week we're joined Aidan Homewood, an independent AI governance researcher. He recently completed the Pivotal Fellowship in London.

His talk will describe progress made so far by governance researchers and policymakers around the world, existing problems, and what future governance systems might look like. He'll also cover the new AI policy direction Secure Futures is pursuing.

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Minimum Wages
Sep
10

Minimum Wages

What are minimum wages for? And what effects do they really have?

Join us on Tuesday to hear Dean Hyslop, Senior Fellow at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research institute, discuss these questions. Dean will go over the evidence from his 2021 working paper, along with some more recent analysis.

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How to have a Good Disagreement
Sep
3

How to have a Good Disagreement

We can’t all agree with each other all of the time. Sometimes disagreements are trivial and can be quickly moved on from or resolved. But often a disagreement is a sign that there’s something important and worth discussing. So what do we do then?

Come along to this interactive session to learn about how to have a good disagreement. You’ll practice disagreeing about important topics in constructive ways, and maybe even change your beliefs about something!

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The Estimation Game
Aug
27

The Estimation Game

Tonight at 5.30pm, Max will be leading us in the Estimation Game!

The Estimation Game is an online contest that runs once a month. Competitors make back-of-the-envelope estimations and then compare their results with other groups around the world. This month’s theme is "extreme numbers"

This session will be held in room KK204 at Kelburn Campus. We hope to see you there!

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Biorisk: a talk on man made pandemics
Aug
13

Biorisk: a talk on man made pandemics

Future pandemics are bound to happen, and many could be far worse than COVID. However, there are some people (especially in Effective Altruism) who suggest that a man-made pandemic would be far worse, and even carries a substantial risk of causing human extinction in the next century.

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Games Night
Jul
30

Games Night

Join us for a games night, where we spent an hour or two playing whichever games the group decides on (feel free to bring along your favourite game!)

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Existential Risk/Philosophy Interactive Session
Jul
23

Existential Risk/Philosophy Interactive Session

In this interactive session, Max Clarke will discuss with us why we might prioritise existential risks (things that might cause the extinction of humanity, or something equally bad). We will also discuss how this relates to long-termism (the idea that future people matter just as much as present people.

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Effective Altruism NZ & Charity Analysis
Jul
16

Effective Altruism NZ & Charity Analysis

Rowan, Operations Manager of Effective Altruism NZ, will lead a talk and discussion session on the organisation, as well as the global sister organisation Centre for Effective Altruism. After a short discussion time, Rowan will then talk about an evidence-based charity analysis.

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Games Night
Jun
25

Games Night

Join us for a games night, where we spent an hour or two playing whichever games the group decides on (feel free to bring along your favourite game!)

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The Estimation Game (then pub social)!
May
14

The Estimation Game (then pub social)!

This week we are running a combined event – where we take part in the April Estimation Game and then a pub social at The Arborist (from around 6.30pm). Those who just want to attend the pub social but not the Game are also very welcome!

The Estimation Game is an online game that runs once a month where individuals or teams (we will be a team) are asked to come up with a number of back-of-the-envelope estimations and then they can see how their estimates compare to other groups around the world. This month’s theme is the history of war. Find our more information here

This session will be held in room KK204 at Kelburn Campus. The room is on floor 2 of Kirk Building. Please be aware the doors to the university stop automatically opening past 6 pm, and to leave the university level 3 is easiest without a pass after this time. While we run events at the university our group is comprised of both students and professionals. Anyone is welcome to join.

 
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Games Night
May
7

Games Night

Join us on Tuesday for a games night, where we spent an hour or two playing whichever games the group decides on (feel free to bring along your favourite game!). Ideas so far include Exploding Kittens and Secret Hitler. Some pizza/snacks will be provided for us to share. Hope to see you there!

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EA Ecosystem: What is Effective Altruism?
Apr
30

EA Ecosystem: What is Effective Altruism?

When we talk about Effective Altruism, what exactly are we talking about?
There are multiple ways you might answer this question, but one of them is to discuss that now there are a huge number of organisations affiliated with EA, and look at what they have achieved!
After giving a brief introduction to what EA is and its history, this talk discusses a wide range of organisations that make up the ‘EA ecosystem’. Important examples we will cover include GiveWell, 80,000 Hours, Open Philanthropy, the Centre for Effective Altruism, Giving What We Can and the Global Priorities Institute.

This session will be held in room KK204 at Kelburn Campus. The room is on floor 2 of Kirk Building. Please be aware the doors to the university stop automatically opening past 6 pm, and to leave the university level 3 is easiest without a pass after this time. While we run events at the university our group is comprised of both students and professionals. Anyone is welcome to join.

 
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AI Safety: Approaches and Careers
Apr
23

AI Safety: Approaches and Careers

In Part 2 of our AI safety discussion, Max Clarke will discuss the field of AI safety, including research directions, organisations and his own experience pursuing a career in the field. The talk will motivate the arguments behind AI existential risk, and discuss the various approaches being taken to mitigate it. Max will then discuss the various organizations in the field of AI safety, including those that offer training and funding opportunities for those interested in careers in AI safety.

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Is Power Seeking AI an Existential Risk?
Apr
16

Is Power Seeking AI an Existential Risk?

The recent explosion of progress in the AI field has brought about a lot of excitement about how this technology could benefit humanity, but also great concern about the risks. One such risk is the possibility of creating of power-seeking AI systems with different goals from humanity’s best interests.

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The Estimation Game
Mar
26

The Estimation Game

This week we will be taking part in the March Estimation Game. The Estimation Game is an online game that runs once a month where individuals or teams are asked to come up with a number of back-of-the-envelope estimations and then they can see how their estimates compare to other groups around the world.

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Environmental Wins Throughout History
Mar
19

Environmental Wins Throughout History

Thinking about climate change can often make us feel hopeless and overwhelmed. However, if we look throughout history there are a number of instances where humanity has achieved remarkable progress on huge environmental issues, such as the the ozone hole and acid rain. This week, Dylan Chambers will be giving a talk on some of these examples, in the hopes of showing that positive change is possible.

This session will be held in room KK204 at Kelburn Campus. While we run events at the university our group is comprised of both students and professionals. Anyone is welcome to join. Please be aware the doors to the university stop automatically opening past 6 pm.

 
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Intro to AI Safety with Zoe Williams
Mar
6

Intro to AI Safety with Zoe Williams

Capabilities in artificial intelligence are increasing at a rapid rate. They have the potential to fundamentally change society and ensuring this goes well may be a global priority

Zoe Williams is the acting co-director of the Institute for AI Policy & Strategy. This event will be a great introduction for those who are considering applying for our AI Safety fellowship.

For more info contact Gavin or Ruben

 
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Rainer Kravets On Running An Animal Welfare Charity
Mar
5

Rainer Kravets On Running An Animal Welfare Charity

Animal Policy International (API) is a Charity Entrepreneurship incubated organisation advocating for extending New Zealand’s animal welfare standards to imported products. API’s co-founder Rainer Kravets will give an overview of their theory of change, progress to date, and plans for the future.

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