EA Forum Podcast (Curated & popular)9 Loka

“I’m leaving the Center for Reducing Suffering to pursue independent research” by Magnus Vinding

I have recently decided to leave the Center for Reducing Suffering (CRS) to pursue independent research on the possible implications of UAP and quiet expansionist hypotheses for reducing suffering.

I have some history of writing about these topics (e.g. this essay collection), so this decision amounts to stepping more fully in that direction rather than keeping it perpetually in the background.

I co-founded CRS with Tobias Baumann in 2020, and I greatly appreciate all the support I have received from donors and colleagues while working there. Below, I will briefly explain why I have decided to make this shift.

Why do I prioritize these topics?

Two of the main reasons I prioritize these topics are theory and evidence. When it comes to theory, it seems that people tend to dismiss the possibility of quiet alien expansion based on very strong theoretical assumptions, but I don’t think those assumptions are nearly as solid as people generally assume. In fact, most of the essays I’ve written about this topic (e.g. From AI to distant probes, Silent cosmic rulers, and The cooperative silence hypothesis) argue against the typical theoretical assumptions that supposedly rule out quiet expansion or nearby alien technology. (See also [...]

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Outline:

(00:48) Why do I prioritize these topics?

(02:32) Why will I do this work outside CRS?

(03:44) What this means for CRS

The original text contained 5 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:
October 9th, 2026

Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/7CBwcTn7Cjoe2CEza/i-m-leaving-the-center-for-reducing-suffering-to-pursue

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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