In the last few years, we've seen language models now solving college-level math problems in seconds. MIT had a deep learning model create a new antibiotic that effectively kills the world's most problematic disease-causing bacteria. Even if they develop enough intelligence that does not have volition or consciousness, that bad actor humans can deploy "could be a nuclear weapon times 10," he says.
If the human race lasts as long as a typical mammalian species and our population continues at its current size, then there are 80 trillion people yet to come. Oxford philosophy professor William MacAskill says it's up to us to protect them.
In his bold new book, "What We Owe the Future," MacAskill makes a case for longtermism. He believes that how long we survive as a species may depend on the actions we take now.
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