welcome 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: A central directory for open research questions, published by MichaelA on the effective altruism forum. Write a Review Quite wonderfully, there has been a proliferation of research questions EAs have identified as potentially worth pursuing, and now even a proliferation of collections of such questions. So like a good little EA, I’ve gone meta: this post is a collection of all such collections I’m aware of. I hope this can serve as a central directory to all of those other useful resources, and thereby help interested EAs find questions they can investigate to help inform our whole community’s efforts to do good better. Some things to note: It may be best to just engage with one set of questions that are relevant to your skills, interests, or plans, and ignore the rest of this post. It’s possible that some of these questions are no longer “open”. I’ve included some things that aren’t explicitly written as collections of research questions, as long as research questions could very easily be inferred from them (e.g., from the problems people identify, or the posts people want written). Various EA-related topics List of EA-related thesis topics - Effective Thesis, no date You can also contact them for discussion, help, or coaching. A collection of researchy projects for Aspiring EAs - EdoArad, 2019 What questions could COVID-19 provide evidence on that would help guide future EA decisions? - Michael Aird (i.e., me) and others, 2020 Technical and Philosophical Questions That Might Affect Our Grantmaking - Open Philanthropy Project, 2017 What are the key ongoing debates in EA? - various, 2020 What posts do you want someone to write? - various, 2020 2018 list of half-baked volunteer research ideas and its comments - Jacy Reese and others, 2018 EA Summit Project Ideas (specifically the “Research Projects”) - various, no date What are some lists of open questions in effective altruism? - Aaron Gertler and others, 2019 This and the following list are roughly the same sort of “meta collection” as this post, and I think I took everything relevant from them already. The most important questions and problems - Pablo Stafforini Some history topics it might be very valuable to investigate - Michael Aird, 2020 On the longtermist case for working on farmed animals [Uncertainties & research ideas] - Michael Aird, 2021 What are the highest impact questions in the behavioral sciences? - Abby Hoskin, 2021 Mostly focused on longtermism, existential risks, or GCRs The Precipice, Appendix F: Policy and research recommendations - Toby Ord, 2020 Research questions that could have a big social impact, organised by discipline - Arden Koehler & Howie Lempel (80,000 Hours), 2020 Crucial questions for longtermists - Michael Aird for Convergence Analysis, 2020 Legal Priorities Research: A Research Agenda - Legal Priorities Project, 2021 Project Ideas in Biosecurity for EAs - David Manheim ("In conjunction with a group of other EA biosecurity folk"), 2021 Politics, Policy, and Security from a Broad Longtermist Perspective: A Preliminary Research Agenda - Michael Aird for Rethink Priorities, 2021 Humanities Research Ideas for Longtermists - Lizka for Rethink Priorities, 2021 80 Questions for UK Biological Security - Luke Kemp et al., 2021 Open Research Questions - Center on Long-Term Risk, no date ALLFED’s research priorities and Effective Theses topic ideas - 2019 Open Research Questions - Center for Reducing Suffering, no date Some history topics it might be very valuable to investigate - Michael Aird, 2020 Questions related to moral circles that are listed at the end of this post and in this comment - Michael Aird, 2020 Cause prioritisation / macrostrategy topics Denis Drescher collected and may investigate - 2020 Michael Aird_Research statement [FHI RSP] - Michael Aird, 2020 Mostly focused on AI ...