I assume that this is making the point that in general, with these sorts of systems, whatever the GiveWell equivalent is tends to be a scam, because they don’t have the right incentives. What if GiveWell made stuff up? What if they accepted bribes? Why is it in their interest to actually be accurate? Imagine an equivalent in the field of medicine evaluating doctors and hospitals. Or in the field of education evaluating schools. I know that I wouldn’t expect MedicateWell and EducateWell to actually be effective.
My guess is that the author thinks that GiveWell in particular happens to not be a scam, but that this fact is an anomaly. I’d place my confidence in this at perhaps 80% and I’m interested in hearing a response from the author too.
I assume that this is making the point that in general, with these sorts of systems, whatever the GiveWell equivalent is tends to be a scam, because they don’t have the right incentives. What if GiveWell made stuff up? What if they accepted bribes? Why is it in their interest to actually be accurate? Imagine an equivalent in the field of medicine evaluating doctors and hospitals. Or in the field of education evaluating schools. I know that I wouldn’t expect MedicateWell and EducateWell to actually be effective.
My guess is that the author thinks that GiveWell in particular happens to not be a scam, but that this fact is an anomaly. I’d place my confidence in this at perhaps 80% and I’m interested in hearing a response from the author too.