Peter Thiel says that effective altruists got 'one big thing right'

Investor Peter Thiel said he does not support effective altruism, a view shared by several artificial intelligence executives, yet he credits the group with an important insight.

The movement encourages people to guide charitable giving and career choices with research and rational analysis to improve human welfare. It was previously closely associated with Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX founder convicted of fraud, and is now connected to debates over AI safety.

According to Thiel, adherents early described artificial intelligence as, in his words, an "enormously socially transformative thing" that, as he quoted them, "it could be weaponized."

Thiel said he is strongly critical of the group and framed his comment as an effort to "steel-man" its position, or outline its strongest case. He also compared its structure to a cult with exclusive knowledge and questioned whether such a group could create a billion-dollar enterprise.