Scott argues against the concept of "telescopic altruism" - the claim that liberals care more about distant strangers than nearby people - showing that people who care about faraway causes also care about nearby ones, and that compassion is generally correlated across all distances rather than inversely related. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques the concept of "telescopic altruism," which claims that some people (usually liberals) ignore those close to them to care about distant strangers. He argues this accusation collapses under scrutiny: people who care about 50,000 deaths in Gaza would also care about 50,000 deaths among their neighbors. He debunks a commonly cited study whose heatmap visualization is misinterpreted to suggest liberals care more about rocks than family, when it actually just shows the outer limit of their moral concern. Scott proposes instead a "correlated altruism" hypothesis, citing Dave Barry's principle that someone nice to waiters is genuinely nice. He provides evidence that liberals who support foreign aid also support domestic programs like school lunches and COVID measures, and shows statistics suggesting liberals aren't worse at maintaining family relationships. The post concludes by acknowledging that some people do neglect their communities, but argues this happens because they care too much and are incompetent, not because they don't care at all. Shorter summary

Scott discusses how moral principles emerge from the relationship between emotional responses and rational consistency, using reactions to Gaza as a central example. Longer summary

Scott responds to three different arguments questioning the authenticity of moral principles and emotional responses, particularly around the Gaza conflict. He uses a personal story about his reaction to a tragic account from Gaza, contrasting his raw emotional response with the need for principled rational thinking. The post explains how genuine moral principles emerge from the interplay between emotional responses and rational consistency, arguing that while perfect consistency may be impossible, the effort to generalize our moral intuitions in a principled way is valuable and necessary. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander's poem, inspired by a tragic aid airdrop incident in Gaza, explores the challenges and unintended consequences of altruism through various philosophical lenses. Longer summary

Scott Alexander presents a poetic reflection on the challenges and unintended consequences of trying to help others, inspired by a tragic incident where an aid airdrop killed five people in Gaza. The poem explores various philosophical approaches to altruism and social responsibility, ultimately settling on a utilitarian perspective while acknowledging its limitations. The verses touch on historical figures, personal growth, and the complexities of moral decision-making in a world where good intentions can lead to harmful outcomes. Shorter summary

The post explores recent advances in AI forecasting, discusses the concept of 'rationality engines', reviews a study on AI risk predictions, and provides updates on various prediction markets. Longer summary

This post discusses recent developments in AI-powered forecasting and prediction markets. It covers two academic teams' work on AI forecasting systems, comparing their performance to human forecasters. The post then discusses the potential for developing 'rationality engines' that can answer non-forecasting questions. It also reviews a study on superforecasters' predictions about AI risk, and provides updates on various prediction markets including political events, cryptocurrency, and global conflicts. The post concludes with short links to related articles and developments in the field of forecasting. Shorter summary