(The Dispatch) – The church has some experience with millenarian cults.

Anthropic was founded at a particular time (2021), in a particular place (San Francisco), under the influence of a particular philosophy (effective altruism). It is an ideology that is highly regarded by certain technologists, philosophers, and students but is widely unknown otherwise. But the movement is well overdue for some serious scrutiny. 

According to an early member of effective altruism (EA), Yarrow Bouchard, the movement started as “wholesome, logical, and humble.” In its early years, the premise of EA was simple: Wealthy Westerners should pledge around 10 percent of their income to charities that alleviated human and animal suffering. The most effective charities tended to be ones where the impact was measurable, such as the provisioning of anti-malarial bednets to children in Africa.

Armed with a mathematical doctrine for being a “good person,” the movement quickly turned to recruitment. (Read More)