Effective altruism is about the _effective_ part. Don't just donate to the charity or cause that _sounds_ good; look for where your money would provide the biggest impact.
If you want to save lives in general, look for the most _effective_ charity like that, which may be something like mosquito nets rather than a cancer research foundation. Don't just donate money to whatever is the most obvious charity advertised on television.
If you had a family member with cancer, look at which of N cancer foundations spend the money most effectively and donate there.
Often, altruism comes down to people giving money to the 'obvious' causes, which don't necessarily use the money effectively.
cancer research will give benefits forever once a solution is found whereas mosquito nets will get worn out and so are only a temporary fix. Cancer cure also scales to more people eventually. Worse, how much is your donation contributing to cancer research? You just can't quantify that.
The whole concept just seems to assume you know everything, present and future, and have infinite calculation power.
If you want to save lives in general, look for the most _effective_ charity like that, which may be something like mosquito nets rather than a cancer research foundation. Don't just donate money to whatever is the most obvious charity advertised on television.
If you had a family member with cancer, look at which of N cancer foundations spend the money most effectively and donate there.
Often, altruism comes down to people giving money to the 'obvious' causes, which don't necessarily use the money effectively.