#354
Mentioned in 46 episodes

What We Owe the Future

Book • 2022
In this book, William MacAskill advocates for longtermism, the idea that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority.

He argues that future people count, there could be many of them, and we can make their lives better.

MacAskill discusses various threats to humanity, including climate change, AI misalignment, and pandemics, and proposes strategies to ensure civilization's survival and improve its trajectory.

The book explores moral and philosophical issues surrounding longtermism, including the risks of human extinction, civilizational collapse, and technological stagnation, while offering a measured optimism about the future's potential for human flourishing.

Mentioned by

Mentioned in 46 episodes

Mentioned by
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Tim Harford
as the book that spread long-termism ideas more widely.
184 snips
Grand Theft Automated: How to Save a Trillion Lives
Mentioned by
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Ali Abdaal
as a new book about the idea of what are the things that we can do right now that will help impact future generations disproportionately highly?
140 snips
Moral Philosopher Will MacAskill on What We Owe The Future
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Luisa Rodriguez
as a forthcoming book arguing for getting off fossil fuels so there's some left for descendants.
116 snips
Rebuilding after apocalypse: What 13 experts say about bouncing back
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Sam Harris
as a wonderful book and the topic of their discussion.
111 snips
#292 — How Much Does the Future Matter?
Mentioned by Luisa Rodriguez when discussing the 'end of history fallacy'.
87 snips
AGI disagreements and misconceptions: Rob, Luisa, & past guests hash it out
Mentioned by
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Ali Abdaal
; he interviewed MacAskill on the podcast, discussing philosophy, altruism, and philanthropy.
77 snips
A New Direction for Deep Dive - Let's Chat
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Sam Harris
as books written by Will McCaskill.
73 snips
#361 — Sam Bankman-Fried & Effective Altruism
Recommended by
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Ryan Holiday
as a book about long-termism and its importance in doing good.
42 snips
Will MacAskill on Creating Lasting Change
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Rob Wiblin
in reference to his argument about the fragility of values and the abolition of slavery.
36 snips
#145 – Christopher Brown on why slavery abolition wasn't inevitable
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Will MacAskill
as containing examples from history of attempts to lock in values and institutions.
35 snips
Highlights: #213 – Will MacAskill on AI causing a “century in a decade” — and how we’re completely unprepared
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Jodi Kantor
as a guide to making the future better for future generations.
35 snips
The Rise of Workplace Surveillance
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Chris Williamson
as a book that complements Toby Ord's 'The Precipice'.
32 snips
#512 - Will MacAskill - How Long Could Humanity Continue For?
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Will MacAskill
himself as his own book.
32 snips
#512 - Will MacAskill - How Long Could Humanity Continue For?
Mentioned by
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Erik Hoel
, discussing his review of the book and its implications for AI safety.
31 snips
#305 — Moral Knowledge
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Tim Ferriss
as the new book by Will MacAskill.
28 snips
#623: In Case You Missed It: August 2022 Recap of "The Tim Ferriss Show"
Mentioned by Emil Torres, discussing his book on longtermism.
28 snips
5. Silicon Valley's Scary New Tech Religion: TESCREAL
Mentioned in the podcast as a guide to making the future better for future generations.
27 snips
Inside the Adolescent Mental Health Crisis
Mentioned by
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Brad DeLong
when comparing it to his own book.
26 snips
209 | Brad DeLong on Why the 20th Century Fell Short of Utopia

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