Win-Win with Liv Boeree

#52 - Will MacAskill - What Comes AFTER Superintelligence?

Jan 27, 2026
Will MacAskill, moral philosopher and Effective Altruism co-founder focused on longtermism and AI transitions. He explores what a post-superintelligence world might look like. Short takes on risks like authoritarian lock-in, suffering in digital minds, and how to preserve moral progress. Talks practical ideas like universal access to space and seas, viatopia as robust way stations, and why now matters for shaping transitions.
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INSIGHT

Rapid Intelligence Explosion Risks

  • AI could compress a century of progress into a few years, creating an intense transition with many simultaneous challenges.
  • Preparing for that transition matters as much as building AGI itself because early power dynamics will shape long-run outcomes.
ADVICE

Prioritize Neglected, Tractable, High-Impact Problems

  • Focus on problems that are large in scale, neglected, and tractable when choosing where to work or donate.
  • Work now on transition-relevant issues because early interventions can change who controls powerful AI.
INSIGHT

AI Favors Concentration Of Power

  • AI structurally favors power concentration because a single actor can control bureaucracy, military, and policing via automated systems.
  • Political institutions and property norms may not survive first-mover grabs for control.
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