Effective altruists donate 81% of income to fund AI safety work
a couple donated 81% of their income in 2025, drawing down savings to fund ai safety work during what they deem a critical window for preventing catastrophic outcomes from transformative ai.
jeff kaufman detailed how he and his wife donated 81% of their 2025 income by liquidating non-retirement savings, driven by the belief that the world is in a narrow window to shape the trajectory of powerful ai systems. while their absolute donations dropped after kaufman left a big tech job in 2022 to work on biosecurity at a non-profit, they increased the percentage given because they view current spending as more effective than future wealth. kaufman outlined three scenarios for ai development, arguing that in the cases of disaster or post-scarcity, retirement savings are useless, making immediate donation the logical choice. the couple plans to halt future retirement contributions to redirect more money toward ai safety efforts during this period.