Trump adviser’s memo puts Dario Amodei at the root of EA

Effective altruism “built the AI-doom pipeline,” says a memo by a Trump political adviser that began circulating in the White House this week, per Axios, which obtained it. The memo names Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and president Daniela Amodei among those who “built the [EA] network” and calls those ties “The Anthropic knot.”

Axios sources say Trump allies see Amodei as an easy foil because of his politics and his focus on AI safety. Axios calls that worrisome for investors, since Anthropic is preparing for what’s expected to be a record-setting IPO.

The memo also lists abortion, veganism and rights for “digital minds,” but it doesn’t tie them to Amodei directly.

Anthropic has been working to distance itself from EA. Daniela Amodei told Wired in 2025: “I don’t identify with that terminology.”