#longtermism
What does #ElonMusk want? What is his vision of the future? These questions are of enormous importance because the decisions that Elon Musk makes — unilaterally, undemocratically, inside the relatively small bubble of out-of-touch tech billionaires — will very likely have a profound impact on the world that you and I, our children and grandchildren, end up living in. #Musk is currently the richest person on the planet and, if only by virtue of this fact, one of the most powerful human beings in all of #history. What he wants the future to look like is, very likely, what the future for all of humanity will end up becoming.
This is why it's crucial to unravel the underlying normative worldview that has shaped his actions and public statements, from founding #SpaceX and #Neuralink to complaining that we are in the midst of "a demographic disaster" because of under-population, to trying — but, alas, failing — to purchase #Twitter, the world's most influential social #media platform.
https://www.salon.com/2022/07/17/how-elon-musk-sees-the-future-his-bizarre-sci-fi-vision-should-concern-us-all/ #longtermism #eugenics #capitalism #ultilitarianism #transhumanism #utopia #technology #racism #climatechange #pandemic #wealth
Perhaps you've seen the word "longtermism" in your social #media feed. Or you've stumbled upon the New Yorker profile of William MacAskill, the public face of #longtermism. Or read MacAskill's recent opinion essay in the New York Times. Or seen the cover story in TIME magazine: "How to Do More Good." Or noticed that #ElonMusk retweeted a link to MacAskill's new book, "What We Owe the Future," with the comment, "Worth reading. This is a close match for my #philosophy."
As I have previously written, longtermism is arguably the most influential #ideology that few members of the general public have ever heard about. Longtermists have directly influenced reports from the secretary-general of the United Nations; a longtermist is currently running the RAND Corporation; they have the ears of billionaires like #Musk; and the so-called Effective Altruism community, which gave rise to the longtermist ideology, has a mind-boggling $46.1 billion in committed funding. Longtermism is everywhere behind the scenes — it has a huge following in the tech sector — and champions of this view are increasingly pulling the strings of both major world governments and the business #elite.
https://www.salon.com/2022/08/20/understanding-longtermism-why-this-suddenly-influential-philosophy-is-so/ #technology #transhumanism #economics #holocaust #climatechange #poverty #religion
