EA - My closing talk at EAGxSingapore by Dion

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: My closing talk at EAGxSingapore, published by Dion on September 12, 2022 on The Effective Altruism Forum. I gave this talk at the end of EAGxSingapore, which I helped organize. It has been modified for clarity. Before I start the talk proper, I wanted to get a show of hands – if someone in this conference needs help, who would be willing to lend a helping hand, whether it's sending a message, reviewing a draft or hopping onto a call? (The majority, if not all, people raised their hands) For everyone new to EA conferences, take a look around! If there's someone that you wanted to reach out to but didn't send that message, check if they have their hands up. If they do, you should ask them for a call! I'll get back to why I asked you guys to raise your hands later. When preparing for this talk, the best advice I got was that I should be authentic, speak from my own experiences and not try to be someone I'm not. So I'm sharing a little about my first conference, what I took away from it, and what I hope you will take away from EAGxSingapore. My first EA conference was EAG London 2022. Like many of you, I watched Amy Labenz, Will MacAskill, and Benjamin Todd and I was so inspired. I wanted to be an effective altruist and improve the world. So, I applied for the conference and got accepted. A wave of fear hit me a few days before I was scheduled to fly. I have made an insane decision to meet a bunch of online strangers halfway across the world. It was something that I struggled to explain to my parents, and many of my non-EA friends had doubts about what I was doing. It all seemed like a terrible idea. It didn't stop there; scheduling 1-1s for someone introverted and new to the community was horrifyingly scary. All the people on Swapcard seemed so amazing and out of my league- researchers, specialists, and directors working on incredible projects. And scheduling 1-1s is only the first step because once you have a successful 1-1, you need to follow up. This means starting something, applying for a job, looking for collaborators or hiring someone. It also means that you'll constantly be stepping out of your comfort zone to grow, but it can also be challenging and nerve-wracking. So when people tell me that a common criticism of EA is that we are an emotionless bunch that only cares about data and numbers, I disagree because I associate EA with this fear and anxiety. However, beyond this fear and anxiety, there are two more things that I strongly feel when I'm around EAs. The first one is hope. Don't you think it is ridiculously and wondrously hopeful how so many of us think we can stop an existential risk? That something that can wipe out the whole of humanity can be mitigated by us all coming together and working on the world's most pressing issues. I think that that's the magical part of coming to conferences - that somehow so many of you have come together because we all believe we can do some good in the world. This makes me incredibly hopeful for the future. The second thing that I feel is warmth. The 1-1s were scary. However, it was also heartwarming how so many of these fantastic people made time for me, especially when many would not have gained value from it. People were willing to be mentors, guide me along my journey, and, even more importantly, I met lifelong friends. People who were there to check in on my mental health, gossip with me, and people who I hope will stay in my life far beyond my EA commitments. And this is something that I hope you guys will find as well. What I'm trying to say is that EA can be hard. It can be very demanding of you and your worldviews. And I feel kind of bad because I know it's difficult, but I'm asking you to take a leap of faith. Here are my three reasons why. The first reason is that I think you are worth it. EAGxSingapore was...