Peter Singer and some EA’s argue that ultimately all people should receive equal weight in your utility function.
Some questions that this poses:
- Is morality absolute?
- Currently, what weights do people have in my objective function?
- Can I change my objective function?
- Should I change my objective function?
An interesting point (made by EY): It is rational to take akrasia into account. Suppose the thought “I should give 90% of my money to charity” caused you severe anxiety and prevented you from giving even 5% of your money to charity. Then the thought was not actually useful. There is no point in railing “I shouldn’t be this weak”. Instead, accept the truth, abandon the incapacitating thought, donate 5% right now, and be open to updating your actions in the future.