Astral Codex Ten

Alcoholics Anonymous

4 min read

Alcoholics Anonymous

Article

Alcoholics Anonymous is a recurring organization in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 3 times across 3 issues between November 30, 2023 and January 23, 2026. The archive places it in contexts such as “the wider community - as a sort of Alcoholics Anonymous, giving people a structure”; “as a sort of Alcoholics Anonymous, giving people a structure that makes doing the right thing easier”; “sobriety pledge with an organization like Alcoholics Anonymous”. It most often appears alongside Giving What We Can, EA, EA Forum.

Metadata

  • Category: Organizations
  • Mention count: 3
  • Issue count: 3
  • First seen: November 30, 2023
  • Last seen: January 23, 2026

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Contra DeBoer On Movement Shell Games
November 30, 2023 · Original source
I think this is the role of the wider community - as a sort of Alcoholics Anonymous, giving people a structure that makes doing the right thing easier than not doing it. Lots of alcoholics want to quit in principle, but only some join AA. I think there’s a similar level of difference between someone who vaguely endorses the idea of giving to charity, and someone who commits to a particular toolbox of social technology to make it happen.
Contra Stone On EA
May 30, 2024 · Original source
I think this is the role of the wider community - as a sort of Alcoholics Anonymous, giving people a structure that makes doing the right thing easier than not doing it. Lots of alcoholics want to quit in principle, but only some join AA. I think there’s a similar level of difference between someone who vaguely endorses the idea of giving to charity, and someone who commits to a particular toolbox of social technology to make it happen.
Slightly Against The "Other People's Money" Argument Against Aid
January 23, 2026 · Original source
Preferences around charity display this kind of time-inconsistency. For example, I used to think I “should” donate to charity, but basically never did it. Then I took the Giving What We Can pledge, which forced me to donate a specific amount at a specific time; even though it felt slightly aversive (“aaaah! I’m losing money!”), I did it to satisfy the pledge, and 99.999% of the time (ie every moment except the exact second I clicked on the donate button) I’m happier with my choices. This mirrors how some people feel like they “should” quit alcohol, but don’t do it until they take some kind of sobriety pledge with an organization like Alcoholics Anonymous - and then are happier with their lives at every moment except the exact second that they really want a drink but can’t have one.
Inline links: took the Giving What We Can pledge