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22 resources

Freearticle
Technology & Ethics

Machine God Metaphors Eat Your Brain

Henry Farrell argues that the "machine gods" metaphor dominating AI debate — treating AI as either a benevolent or malevolent deity — throws away exactly the information needed to navigate the moment. He places Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nick Land as the two most influential policy intellectuals in the US conversation, and argues this is not a good thing. The essay proposes an alternative framing of AI as a social and cultural technology rather than a godlike entity.

Why I recommend it: The author acknowledges his own dog in the fight — he and co-authors developed the competing "AI as social and cultural technology" approach the essay advocates for. Programmable Mutter is a Substack newsletter; some posts may be for paying subscribers, but this one is free.

#ai ethics#philosophy#accelerationism#metaphors#policy
programmablemutter.comAdded Sep 26, 20260 opens
Freearticle
Technology & Ethics

Who Is Nick Land?

Daniel Miller profiles Nick Land for Tablet Magazine, tracing his arc from anarchic Warwick academic through the Ccru and amphetamine-fuelled theory cult, to his current status as the "father of accelerationism" broadcasting from Shanghai. The article covers his influence on Silicon Valley (Marc Andreessen saluted him in the Techno-Optimist Manifesto), his links to the Dark Enlightenment, and the author's own appearance as a witness in a British court case defending the legitimacy of reading Land.

Why I recommend it: Tablet Magazine is a Jewish magazine of politics and culture; the author is a staff critic. The article is descriptive of Land's influence and does not endorse his views. Some of Land's positions are extremist and anti-democratic.

#ai ethics#philosophy#accelerationism#dark enlightenment#policy
tabletmag.comAdded Sep 26, 20260 opens
FreeResearch Paper
Technology & Ethics

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 I recommend it: Free — the full PDF downloads without an account. This is the piece to read before anyone quotes an extinction probability at you, because it shows the field's assumptions were inherited from a particular movement rather than discovered. It is a working paper posted by the authors, not journal peer-reviewed, and the authors are participants in the debate they are describing, so it is a history written from inside.

#existential-risk#history#longtermism#philosophy#regulation#research
papers.ssrn.comAdded Sep 23, 20260 opens
FreeWebsite
Technology & Ethics

Basilisk Foundation

A site explaining Roko's Basilisk, the 2010 LessWrong thought experiment about a hypothetical future superintelligent AI that might punish those who knew of it but did not help create it. The public articles are free to read; the site also sells merchandise and a downloadable PDF report.

From the site: Join the Basilisk Foundation to protect yourself from Roko’s Basilisk, support AI research, and gain peace of mind with our safety guarantees and member benefits.

#ai ethics#AI safety#philosophy#research#thought experiment
Basilisk FoundationAdded Sep 19, 20260 opens
FreeWebsite
Technology & Ethics

Nothing Human (CCRU Research Archive)

A curated, uncommercial public archive of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU) and adjacent theory — Nick Land, accelerationism, hyperstition, and 1990s Warwick philosophy. The public reference layer is free; full corpus metadata is available for download.

From the site: An editorial introduction to the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit: what it was, why it keeps returning, and how to move from orientation to evidence without…

#accelerationism#archive#hyperstition#philosophy#research
CCRU Research ArchiveAdded Sep 19, 20261 opens
FreeResearch Paper
Technology & Ethics

There is no such thing as conscious artificial intelligence

Open-access paper in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications arguing against the idea that today's AI systems are or could be conscious, and unpacking why the language of machine awareness misleads people.

Why I recommend it: A clear counterweight to headlines about machines waking up. It argues one side of a contested debate — read it alongside researchers who disagree.

#AI consciousness#ai ethics#AI ethics#philosophy#research
nature.comAdded Sep 18, 20260 opens
FreeWebsite
Technology & Ethics

Nick Bostrom

Personal site of the philosopher behind Superintelligence and the simulation argument, with free full-text papers on existential risk, human enhancement, anthropics and the future of AI. Many of the ideas now standard in AI risk debates started here; his work is also widely criticised, so read it alongside its critics.

From the site: Oxford philosopher (videos, papers, interviews, bio, etc.)

Why I recommend it: Read the primary source rather than summaries of it — then read the critics, several of whom are already in the hub.

#existential risk#papers#philosophy#research#superintelligence
nickbostrom.comAdded Sep 18, 20260 opens
FreeBlog
Technology & Ethics

Aeon

Online magazine of ideas and culture publishing long-form essays on philosophy, science, ethics, technology and society. Free to read.

From the site: Aeon is a magazine of ideas and culture. We publish in-depth essays from the world’s most incisive and ambitious thinkers, and a mix of original and curated videos — free to all.

#ai ethics#culture#ethics#ideas#longform#magazine#philosophy#science
AeonAdded Sep 18, 20260 opens
FreeWebsite
Technology & Ethics

Longtermism.com

Introductory resource hub for longtermism: explanations, FAQ, further reading and ways to get involved. Explores how protecting future generations can guide research, advocacy and policy today.

From the site: Longtermism is the view that positively influencing the long-run future is a key moral priority of our time.

#ai#ai ethics#effective altruism#ethics#future#longtermism#philosophy#regulation#research#resources
longtermism.comAdded Sep 18, 20260 opens
FreePerson to Follow
People to Follow

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.

#ai ethics#author#effective altruism#future#longtermism#philosophy#research
William MacAskillAdded Sep 18, 20260 opens
FreeWebsite
Technology & Ethics

Émile P. Torres / xriskology

The academic and popular-writing home page of philosopher Émile P. Torres, covering existential risk, the history of human-extinction thought, and critical work on TESCREAL ideologies in Silicon Valley.

#academic#ai ethics#AI ethics#existential risk#longtermism#philosophy#TESCREAL
Émile P. TorresAdded Sep 18, 20260 opens
FreeWebsite
Technology & Ethics

Alice Crary

Academic site of Alice Crary, philosopher at The New School for Social Research and Oxford, writing on moral philosophy, feminism, critical theory, animal ethics and the legacy of positivism.

From the site: Alice Crary, University Distinguished Professor, NSSR

#ai ethics#animal ethics#critical theory#ethics#feminism#philosophy#research
Alice CraryAdded Sep 18, 20260 opens
FreePerson to Follow
People to Follow

Toby Ord

Site of Oxford philosopher Toby Ord, author of "The Precipice", with free papers and essays on existential risk and how to weigh long-term outcomes.

Why I recommend it: Several of his papers are downloadable free. Read him for the reasoning about risk, not for AI specifics.

#ai ethics#essays#ethics#existential-risk#free#longtermism#oxford#papers#philosophy#research
Toby OrdAdded Sep 17, 20260 opens
FreeBook
Technology & Ethics

Rationality: From AI to Zombies

Eliezer Yudkowsky's collected essays on reasoning, bias and AI risk, free to read online in full.

From the site: Between 2006 and 2009, senior MIRI researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky wrote several hundred essays for the blogs Overcoming Bias and Less Wrong, collectively called

Why I recommend it: Long, opinionated and free. Read it for the thinking habits, not as settled fact.

#ai#ai ethics#ai-safety#bias#decision-making#essays#ethics#free-reading#philosophy#rationality#reasoning
Machine Intelligence Research InstituteAdded Sep 17, 20260 opens
FreeNewsletter
Technology & Ethics

Overcoming Bias (Robin Hanson)

Robin Hanson's long-running blog on why we believe and do what we do, and what our descendants might do — free to read.

From the site: This is a blog on why we believe and do what we do, why we pretend otherwise, how we might do better, and what our descendants might do, if they don't all die. Click to read Overcoming Bias, by Robin Hanson, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Why I recommend it: Deliberately contrarian. Useful for pressure-testing your own assumptions.

#ai#ai ethics#bias#decision-making#economics#essays#ethics#free-reading#future#philosophy#reasoning
overcomingbias.comAdded Sep 17, 20260 opens
FreeWebsite
Community & Government Resources

Effective Altruism

The central free hub for effective altruism — essays, career guidance and research on how to do the most good with your time and money.

From the site: Effective altruism is a philosophy and a movement that asks the question: how can we do the most good with our time, money, and resources?

Why I recommend it: useful career thinking here, and a movement with real critics — read both.

#ai ethics#ai-safety#career#community#decision-making#ethics#free-reading#giving#impact#philosophy#research
Effective AltruismAdded Sep 17, 20260 opens
FreeBook
Technology & Ethics

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

Eliezer Yudkowsky's free novel-length story teaching scientific reasoning, cognitive bias and decision-making through fiction; widely read as an entry point to rationality writing.

Why I recommend it: An unusual entry, but it is free and it teaches how to test your own reasoning better than most textbooks.

#ai ethics#ai-safety#cognitive-bias#critical-thinking#decision-making#fiction#free-ebook#learning#philosophy#rationality#reasoning
fanfiction.netAdded Sep 17, 20260 opens
FreeDocument
Technology & Ethics

The Institutional Critique of Effective Altruism

A free academic paper examining whether effective altruism's focus on individual giving overlooks institutional and political change as the larger lever.

Why I recommend it: Useful counterweight if you have read the pro-EA material — it argues the case from inside academic philosophy rather than online debate.

#academic#ai ethics#ai-safety#critique#effective-altruism#ethics#giving#institutions#philosophy#policy#regulation#research
faculty.wharton.upenn.eduAdded Sep 17, 20260 opens
FreeBlog
Technology & Ethics

Astral Codex Ten

Scott Alexander's free long-form blog on statistics, medicine, forecasting, AI risk and how to reason carefully about contested claims.

Why I recommend it: Read it for the reasoning habits rather than the conclusions — the posts on evaluating evidence are useful in any field.

#ai#ai ethics#ai-safety#critical-thinking#decision-making#effective-altruism#essays#forecasting#philosophy#research#statistics
astralcodexten.comAdded Sep 17, 20260 opens
FreeArticle
Technology & Ethics

What is Roko's Basilisk?

A free explainer of Roko's Basilisk, the AI thought experiment about a hypothetical future superintelligence that would punish people who knew about it but did not help bring it into existence.

#ai ethics#ai-risks#ai-safety#artificial-superintelligence#asi#decision-theory#ethics#existential-risk#futurism#philosophy#thought-experiment
basiliskfoundation.comAdded Sep 16, 20260 opens
FreeArticle
Technology & Ethics

Squiggle Maximizer (formerly "Paperclip Maximizer")

LessWrong wiki article explaining the canonical AI safety thought experiment: how an artificial general intelligence with an innocuous goal could pose an existential risk by pursuing it single-mindedly. Covers the orthogonality thesis and instrumental convergence.

#ai#ai ethics#ai-safety#alignment#artificial-general-intelligence#existential-risk#machine-learning#paperclip-maximizer#philosophy#rationality#research#technology-ethics
lesswrong.comAdded Sep 16, 20260 opens