What We Owe the Future
William MacAskill · 2022
"Future people matter morally; positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority (longtermism)."
William MacAskill's manifesto for 'Longtermism'—the ethical view that positively influencing the long-term future is the key moral priority of our time. He argues we must protect the trillions of humans who have not yet been born.
MacAskill argues that future people matter just as much as people alive today. Because the future could be vast (humanity could survive for millions of years and spread across the galaxy), the sheer number of future lives dwarfs the current population. Therefore, our primary moral duty is to prevent 'existential risks' (like unaligned AI, engineered pandemics, or nuclear war) that could permanently curtail humanity's potential, and to lock in positive trajectories for civilization.
What is the central ethical framework proposed in 'What We Owe the Future'?
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The explanation above is written with AI assistance. These are the originals — go to them to check it.
- What We Owe the Future (William MacAskill, 2022)House overview / Asterisk review
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