Would a larger share of the UK public be interested in learning about “AI Safety” or about “Pandemic preparedness”?

As part of a project investigating EA/Longtermist framings, supported by Manifund, we have run a number of pilot studies as part of initial testing.

For one of these studies, approximately 1200 respondents were recruited from the UK weighted to reflect the UK population according to Age, Geographic Region, Education, Race/Ethnicity, Sex, and reported 2024 General Election vote.

Respondents were asked to indicate which one of a series of EA related areas (both broad areas such as “global catastrophic risk reduction” and concrete causes such as “AI Safety”), they would be most interested in learning more about.

The terms and descriptions people were presented with were:

• Effective altruism: A movement that aims to find the best ways to help others, and put them into practice. It often involves researching which charities are the most effective and which careers have the largest positive impact.

• Effective giving: A movement dedicated to using evidence and reason to inform charitable donation decisions, ensuring that people identify and donate to the places where their money can have the greatest impact.

• Global catastrophic risk reduction: A field that seeks to reduce risks from threats such as global pandemics, nuclear war, asteroid impacts, and dangerous technological developments that place civilization at risk.

• Longtermism: The view that positively influencing the long-term future, potentially hundreds or thousands of years away, is a key moral priority of our time.

• AI Safety: Ensuring that advanced artificial intelligence is safe, through research and regulation.

• Pandemic preparedness: Strengthening global health systems to detect, respond to, and reduce the impact of potential pandemic outbreaks.

• Climate change action: Addressing the impacts of global warming and promoting sustainable practices, such as a reduction in fossil fuel consumption.