At the time of writing, the crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried is due to stand trial on 3 October 2023. He stands accused of fraud and money-laundering on an epic scale through his currency exchange FTX. Did he gamble with other people’s money in a bid to do the maximum good?&nbsp;In this week’s long read, the&nbsp;New Statesman’s associate editor Sophie McBain examines the relationship between Bankman-Fried and the Oxford-based effective altruism (EA) movement. The billionaire was a close associate and supporter of William MacAskill, the Scottish moral philosopher who many consider EA’s leader. It was MacAskill who had persuaded him – and many other young graduates – to earn more, in order to give more. But how much money was enough – and what should they spend it on? Was EA just “a dumb game we woke Westerners play”, as Bankman-Fried told one journalist?&nbsp;In conversations with EA members past and present, McBain hears how the movement was altered by its enormous wealth. As the trial of its biggest sponsor approaches, will effective altruism survive – or be swallowed by its more cynical Silicon Valley devotees?&nbsp;Written and read by Sophie McBain.&nbsp;This article originally appeared in the 22-28 September 2023 edition of the&nbsp;New Statesman; you can read the text version&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2023/09/sam-bankman-fried-effective-altruism-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you might also like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/audio-long-reads/2022/04/big-tech-and-the-quest-for-eternal-youth-audio-long-reads" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Big Tech and the quest for eternal youth</a>, by Jenny Kleeman.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

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The philosopher and the crypto king: Sam Bankman-Fried and the effective altruism delusion

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