Joe Carlsmith
Philosopher writing long, careful essays on longtermism and power-seeking AI
A philosopher and essayist who writes at length about longtermism, moral uncertainty and whether AI systems would seek power. His reports are among the most cited attempts to put numbers on those arguments rather than gesture at them.
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William MacAskill
Philosopher and senior research fellow at Forethought, working on AGI preparedness and longtermism. Co-founded Giving What We Can, 80,000 Hours, the Centre for Effective Altruism and the Global Priorities Institute; author of Doing Good Better and What We Owe the Future.
Why this: Covers longtermism and philosophy too
Will AI really turn us into paperclips?
Engelsberg Ideas essay arguing that thought experiments such as Nick Bostrom's “paperclip maximiser” say less about artificial intelligence than about human intuitions and fears.
Why this: Covers AI risk and philosophy too
Joe Carlsmith — Essays on Philosophy and the Long-Term Future
The personal site of Joe Carlsmith, a writer, researcher and philosopher at Anthropic working on Claude's constitution, with essays on ethics, effective altruism, the long-term future and advanced AI.
Why this: Covers AI risk and philosophy too
Ripples on the Great Sea of Life: A Brief History of Existential Risk Studies
A 39-page history by SJ Beard (University of Cambridge) and Émile P. Torres of how existential risk became an academic field, tracing three successive waves: an explicitly transhumanist and techno-utopian first wave, a second built on longtermism and closely tied to Effective Altruism, and a third formed where the field met disaster studies, environmental science and public policy. Posted to SSRN January 2021, revised March 2021.
Why this: Covers longtermism and philosophy too