“Against Doing Things” by Benny Smith

Epistemic status: 0%

Much ink has been spilled on this forum investigating what we should do about the world's most pressing problems. However, I've recently come to the realization that doing nothing may be even more promising than the most cost-effective EA interventions!

Below is a shallow writeup of the top reasons why you should stop doing things.

1. The Singularity is Near. Soon AI will do all the things, so why bother?
    
2. The Unilateralist's Curse. It was foretold that if you do things unilaterally, you will be cursed.
    
3. EA thought leaders are still clueless about what to do despite years of research!
    
4. Markets are efficient. The thing you would have done is already priced in.
    
5. Doing things is not your comparative advantage. Someone else would do it better.
    
6. Lack of evidence. Despite years of people doing things, there is still a striking [...]

---

First published:

April 1st, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/Hstj6FkYiZWB5qHoT/against-doing-things

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.