Open thread: 2026 Q2 (April - June)

Hello, my name is Lucas Campbell, I'm a student currently studying History at the University of Cincinnati. Never been in the habit of commenting before, but I've been a lurker in EA/Rationalist spaces for some time. 

As part of my undergraduate course work I've been tasked with doing a research project analyzing the discourse norms of a particular community, and I'm interested in studying Effective Altruism for this purpose. I'm looking to interview one or more members of the community via email. If anyone is open to this, please contact me via private message and we can exchange emails. 

(This seemed an appropriate place to post this. If it's not, or if I'm violating some norm I am unaware of, please let me know!)

Hey! I'm Nick, I have 7+ years in production ML specially focusing on forecasting, LLM analytics, anomaly detection and calibration. I'm a generalist by nature, usually operating at the intersection of applied research and production systems, figuring out how to take something from a notebook to actually running at scale and being useful. Background in industrial engineering and data science, currently finishing my M.S. in CS (GenAI/Deep Learning).

I've been thinking a lot about what makes ML systems trustworthy in production and how that connects to AI safety more broadly. Interested in AI's economic impacts, LLM evaluation, and what shipping real systems teaches us about safety. Looking to engage more with this community.

Happy to be here!

Hello! My name is Elena Kayayan, and I'm a generalist. Started out as a cell biologist, turned into a project manager at the intersection of AI and healthcare, became an indie game dev. Looking to contribute to the EA space.

Background: 

• MSci Cell Biology degree, 1st class honours from UCL, Dean's list.
• Listed on a patent for a proprietary gene editing system, helped code a program for a lab at Imperial that would help them design DNA barcodes.
• Previously worked as a biomedical analyst and project manager at an AI-health-tech startup.
• Managed multiple projects end-to-end, often in parallel, interfacing between pharma clients, hospitals, and technical teams. This included managing the tech team's progress / product configuration and deployment.
• Currently work as the art director for an indie game (3D models, 2D illustrations, UI design) with some copywriting on the side.
• Dabble in music production, singing / song-writing, creative writing, debate, and animation. 

I also love to debate and write essays.

Hello Everyone,

I'm Amy Letts. I did the Arete Fellowship in Oxford last year. I am an artist-tutor and do various things including painting, comic books and zines. I teach part-time for Oxford University about womens health and am an autistic co-trainer by lived experience for the Oliver McGowan scheme. I am area co-ordinator for Oxfordshire Artweeks and run Caption Comics Festival CIC.

There doesn't seem to be much of an 'Arts Arm' to EA, but I'm sure you are aware of its power for political change. My area of expertise would be in visual messaging, communication, awareness-raising and events.

So, at the moment I am writing some awareness-raising comics about migraine, autism and womens health. I am running panels at Caption Comics Festival about Comics & Politics (with a focus on activism, how comics have bought about change and how you can do it too), and the "AI Rant Panel!" (may be renamed). 

re. the AI Panel we have people who will talk about the damage it is doing to artists and creatives, but if anyone here is interested in being involved to outline the larger existential risks please do throw your hat in the ring (message me).

Hello EA community! 👋

My name is Agwu  Nneoma and I am really glad to finally be here.

I come from an administrative and operations background but AI — specifically its risks, ethics and governance gaps — pulled me in and I have not looked back since. That journey took me through courses, volunteering and eventually to the Legal Committee at the AI Ethics and Integrity International Association (AIEI), where I currently serve as an Associated Participant contributing to real governance work.

I am newer here but not new to caring deeply about this space.

I just put up my first post on the forum — it is my honest story of how I found my way into AI governance from Nigeria, and a question I genuinely want the community's input on:

👉 [From Deepfakes to Governance —  Finding My Way In]

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/Aavb3RchLr9YDsixz/untitled-draft-htxi?utm_campaign=post_share&utm_source=link

It is still awaiting moderator approval but once it is live I would love your thoughts, pushback and honest perspectives.

Looking forward to learning from and contributing to this community. 🙂

— Nneoma

Hi everyone! I'm Slava, 19 years old, a second-year undergraduate student in International Relations. My interests include world history, international relations, literature and philosophy. In 2024, I placed 6th in the final round of the Republican History Olympiad in Kyrgyzstan.

Over the past few months I've been seriously exploring the intersection of AI with my core interests. To deepen my understanding, I completed the Elements of AI and Ethics of AI programmes from the University of Helsinki, and recently published my first post on this forum – on the institutional conflict between Anthropic and the Pentagon.

What concerns me is the broader turbulence of recent years – political radicalisation, rising international tensions, economic instability and general uncertainty. The rise of AI in this turbulent moment is a double-edged sword: enormous opportunities on one side, serious risks on the other. I'm interested in researching and mitigating those risks, particularly in sensitive domains like defence and public discourse.

Hello! My name is Jack Bressett, and I'm a CRM systems specialist. Started out exploring business processes and customer journeys, moved into CRM implementation and optimization, and now focus on helping companies streamline operations and scale through data-driven systems. Looking to contribute to the EA space.

Background:

Specialized in CRM platforms (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho), with hands-on experience in system setup, customization, and automation.
Worked on integrating CRM solutions with marketing tools, payment systems, and internal databases to create seamless workflows.
Helped businesses improve lead management, customer retention, and sales funnel efficiency through tailored CRM strategies.
Managed multiple projects simultaneously, coordinating between sales teams, developers, and stakeholders to ensure smooth deployment and adoption.
Experienced in data analysis, reporting, and building dashboards to support decision-making.
Continuously learning about AI integration in CRM and process automation.

Also interested in behavioral economics, productivity systems, and digital strategy. I enjoy analyzing complex systems, writing, and discussing ideas around efficiency, impact, and long-term thinking.

Hi! I'm Chathurya. I'm a user experience researcher and I'm also doing my master's in technology and innovation management. I mainly work on human-computer interaction and human-AI interaction. In my free time I run, read books, play Scrabble or volunteer at a dog adoption center close to my home.

I feel like I have practiced values of effective altruism even though I didn't know the exact word for it. That is one of the reasons to join the community. 

When I was going through effective altruism resources, I found the intro essay on effectivealtruism.org and the questions and answers below it very helpful. It answered most of the questions I had. Very comprehensive short resource.

Happy to join the forum!

Hi, my name is Simi, I'm a Doctor and Educator. I am currently transitioning from medicine into education with the goal of changing the education system one school at a time.

I am also the founder of a blog called 'Our Future Generation', a platform where I talk about issues with the current education system, ideas on how to change it and my ongoing research findings. This is an ongoing journey for me and I am still learning so much and with every new finding, my passion for education grows!

Surprisingly, I haven't seen an education based group or forum here...thinking about starting one!

I would love to connect with you all so please check out my LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/simisola-duro-pirisola/, my blog - https://www.ourfuturegeneration.blog/ and my substack - https://substack.com/@spirisola :)

Hi, my name is YP, I studied marine bio and environmental science and worked in human rights and spend a lot of time in local community projects. Have been on the peripheries and to some events of EA over the years. Glad to be here. Just joined the Life Itself organisation which is very aligned with EA in may ways, pragmatic utopians trying to seed a wiser world combining right brain and left brain. I'll probably be sharing a lot of our content and frameworks here to see what people think and figure out what nuances people see.

Thanks for welcoming me, I'm constantly trying to balance the rationalising and sensing parts of me and learning to hold contradiction in this complex environment.