The Trajectory Robin Hanson - A Successor Must be Adaptive (Worthy Successor, Episode 16)
12 snips
Nov 28, 2025 
Robin Hanson, an Associate Professor of Economics, dives deep into the future of civilization and intelligence. He warns that humanity is losing its adaptive capacities, risking societal collapse. Hanson discusses the impact of AI, cultural evolution, and the importance of preserving adaptability. He emphasizes the need for concrete values that tie to sacred goals for effective governance. Also, he explores how future intelligences will shape values post-collapse, urging for immediate action to maintain our civilization's robustness.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Each AI Breakthrough Has Limits
- Recent AI progress shows clear capabilities and limits, reducing uncertainty about current paradigms.
- But past AI cycles teach us each breakthrough rarely covers all cognitive tasks; expect more paradigms ahead.
The Innovation Deadline
- Hanson sees a looming demographic 'innovation deadline' as world population peaks and then falls.
- If human-level AI arrives before that decline, it can replace lost innovators; otherwise innovation may stall for centuries.
Values Are Products Of Selection
- Robin argues our values are products of cultural and biological selection, not fixed truths.
- To preserve any value long-term you must tie it to adaptive processes that survive selection pressures.
