Art and Media

The media we consume affects our norms, values, and which problems we care about. Causes that are now internationally known, such as climate change, were unknown, or little-known, before concerted efforts to bring them widespread attention. This suggests that strategic investment in media could have a large impact on both public perception and, cruicually, real progress on important problems.

Many of the default properties of today’s media environment leave something to be desired from the longtermist perspective. Today’s media is extremely scope-insensitive: stories of individual outrage and tragedy are given amounts of airtime similar to stories that affect all of humanity. The small portion of government activity causing partisan outrage receives much greater attention than the more consequential influence our institutions have on the future.

Longview recommends supporting more impartial, truth-seeking media, in service of raising awareness of our cause areas, and in service of promoting a more intelligent public dialogue that features transparent reasoning, economic thinking, and truth-seeking dialogue.

Our World in Data

Clarifying the state of the world with accurate, relevant, beautiful data.

Our World in Data is a research organisation based at the Global Change Data Lab at the University of Oxford. It produces accurate, elegant, visually appealing analysis of a wide range of issues of world importance, such as extreme poverty, greenhouse gas emissions, and world population growth. According to their data, their work is cited around 60 times per month in media and research outlets, and they are accessed by one million monthly users. They provide 3296 charts pertaining to 297 topics, clarifying the state of humanity, for free, with no biassed political agenda or funding.

Effective Ideas Blog Brize

Fostering a new generation of forward-looking online writers.

Many of the most influential figures in the longtermism community were introduced to careful altruistic thinking by a few internet writers on blogs and forums. We aim to continue this trend with the Effective Ideas Blog Prize, which will sponsor a new generation of internet writers, giving them a salary, mentorship, and publicity, so they can produce big-picture thinking about philosophy, economics, the future of humanity, how to do good, and other subjects.

Promotion of Toby Ord’s The Precipice

Making sure that expert writing on important issues gets the attention it needs

Work on existential risk reduction is dangerously neglected globally, making raising awareness an vitally important task. Dr. Toby Ord’s book, The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity, is a sober-minded but arresting look at the most likely threats to human existence. Its promotional budget was supported by a grant recommended by Longview.

Confessions of a Good Samaritan

A creative exploration of what we owe our neighbours.

Positive visions of personal altruism are in short supply. This is one reason why Longview recommended a grant for the production of Confessions of a Good Samaritan, a documentary film by award-winning director Penny Lane, which follows Lane donating her kidney to a stranger. In the process, the documentary explores what provokes altruistic behaviour, how moral progress can be achieved, and how we should think about our responsibility to others.