Sam bankenfried is an effective altruist who believes in accumulating as much money as possible to realize these sorts of visions. He's made his money from crypto currencies, which have a massive carbon footprint. A study form just a few years ago found even if something like, if we were to become, as a civilization, net zero next week, but bitcoin were to persist, we still would not be able to keep temperatures from rising above one point five degrees celsius. So he might be doing a significant amount of net harm by contributing to climate change and so on.
Paris Marx is joined by Émile P. Torres to discuss why longtermism isn’t just about long-term thinking, but provides a framework for Silicon Valley billionaires to justify ignoring the crises facing humanity so they can accumulate wealth and go after space colonization.
Émile P. Torres is a PhD candidate at Leibniz University Hannover and the author of the forthcoming book Human Extinction: A History of Thinking About the End of Humanity. Follow Phil on Twitter at @xriskology.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
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