Tap a claim on the ring to put it at the centre.
← It would be folly to think a few centuries could subdue humanity's inborn cosmic nature to ethical ends
17 connected korrents · 14 moments from 7 Sept 2008 to 17 Sept 2026.
Everything filed under LLMs
LLMs
Everything filed under ambition
ambition
Everything filed under AGI
AGI
Everything filed under AI alignment
AI alignment
Everything filed under sustainability
sustainability Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Read this korrent: It would be folly to think a few centuries could subdue humanity's inborn cosmic nature to ethical ends It would be folly to think a few centuries could subdue humanity's inborn cosmic nature to ethical ends
TH
Thomas Henry Huxley — holds since c. 1893–1894 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The idea that ethical nature, though born of cosmic nature, is necessarily at enmity with it is a fundamental truth — tap to centre the map on it The idea that ethical nature, though born of cosmic nature, is necessarily at enmity with it is a fundamental truth
TH
Thomas Henry Huxley — holds since c. 1893–1894 — tap for who they are
Same subject: It is not rational to say something is likely to end humanity in one's lifetime while planning to completely wing it. — tap to centre the map on it It is not rational to say something is likely to end humanity in one's lifetime while planning to completely wing it. Last stated 2 months ago
13 Sept 2026
FC
François Chollet — holds since 2026-09-13 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Locking humanity into one model's or one company's moral worldview would buy a little short-term safety and cost a long-term disaster. — tap to centre the map on it Locking humanity into one model's or one company's moral worldview would buy a little short-term safety and cost a long-term disaster. Last stated 3 months ago
28 Jul 2026
SA
Sam Altman — holds since 2026-07-28 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Coming near to bliss, immortality and divinity is likely to deflect humankind towards entirely different destinations — tap to centre the map on it Coming near to bliss, immortality and divinity is likely to deflect humankind towards entirely different destinations
YH
Yuval Noah Harari — holds since c. 2015–2017 — tap for who they are
Same subject: We should act on the assumption that we have almost no idea what the best futures would look like, so committing today to any particular vision would be a great mistake. — tap to centre the map on it We should act on the assumption that we have almost no idea what the best futures would look like, so committing today to any particular vision would be a great mistake. Last stated a year ago
3 Aug 2025
WM
William MacAskill — holds since 2025-08-03 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Future generations are unlikely to condone our lack of prudent care for the natural world that supports all life — tap to centre the map on it Future generations are unlikely to condone our lack of prudent care for the natural world that supports all life
RC
Rachel Carson — holds since c. 1962 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Human-level AI is most likely centuries or millennia away, so there is no reason to reorganise one's work around its arrival. — tap to centre the map on it Human-level AI is most likely centuries or millennia away, so there is no reason to reorganise one's work around its arrival. Last stated 3 years ago
13 Dec 2023
SA
Scott Aaronson — holds since 2008-09-07 — tap for who they are
SA
Scott Aaronson — no longer holds since 2023-12-13 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Longtermism, which treats fulfilling humanity's long-term potential as the overriding moral priority, is a worldview worth defending. — tap to centre the map on it Longtermism, which treats fulfilling humanity's long-term potential as the overriding moral priority, is a worldview worth defending. Last stated 5 years ago
19 Oct 2021
ÉT
Émile P. Torres — no longer holds since 2021-10-19 — tap for who they are
Same subject: "If you're not growing, you're dying" is truer of the person than of the company. — tap to centre the map on it "If you're not growing, you're dying" is truer of the person than of the company. Last stated 9 months ago
25 Jan 2026
JC
Jason Cohen — holds since 2026-01-25 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A common-sense utopia is much closer to the present day than it is to the best futures actually available to us. — tap to centre the map on it A common-sense utopia is much closer to the present day than it is to the best futures actually available to us. Last stated a year ago
3 Aug 2025
WM
William MacAskill — holds since 2025-08-03 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A company can run at a fast pace sustainably without constant overwork or undue stress — tap to centre the map on it A company can run at a fast pace sustainably without constant overwork or undue stress Last stated 4 years ago
4 Nov 2022
DH
David Heinemeier Hansson — holds since 2022-11-04 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A country outside the AI supply chain should just buy the index — which works only in the world where AI ends up commoditised rather than concentrated. — tap to centre the map on it A country outside the AI supply chain should just buy the index — which works only in the world where AI ends up commoditised rather than concentrated. Last stated 5 months ago
4 Jun 2026
AI
Alex Imas — holds since 2026-06-04 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A language model is no substitute for a well-specified conventional algorithm, so it cannot simply be dropped into a complex problem and trusted. — tap to centre the map on it A language model is no substitute for a well-specified conventional algorithm, so it cannot simply be dropped into a complex problem and trusted. Last stated a year ago
7 Jun 2025
GM
Gary Marcus — holds since 2025-06-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A model that could learn effectively from raw bitstrings or bytestrings would be extremely powerful, able to learn from any data modality — tap to centre the map on it A model that could learn effectively from raw bitstrings or bytestrings would be extremely powerful, able to learn from any data modality Last stated 3 years ago
10 Oct 2023
CH
Chip Huyen — holds since 2023-10-10 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A badly written AI outbound email is evidence of a bad vendor, not of a limit of AI. — tap to centre the map on it A badly written AI outbound email is evidence of a bad vendor, not of a limit of AI. Last stated 10 months ago
1 Jan 2026
JL
Jason Lemkin — holds since 2026-01-01 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A bigger context window does not give you a smarter model; the intelligence of the model is what decides how much of that window it can actually attend to. — tap to centre the map on it A bigger context window does not give you a smarter model; the intelligence of the model is what decides how much of that window it can actually attend to. Last stated 4 months ago
15 Jul 2026
DH
Dex Horthy — holds since 2026-07-15 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A body of publications is easy for AI models to consume via pretraining corpora but cumbersome for most humans due to CAPTCHAs, accounts, and paywalls. — tap to centre the map on it A body of publications is easy for AI models to consume via pretraining corpora but cumbersome for most humans due to CAPTCHAs, accounts, and paywalls. Last stated a month ago
17 Sept 2026
PC
Patrick Collison — holds since 2026-09-17 — tap for who they are
At the centre
It would be folly to think a few centuries could subdue humanity's inborn cosmic nature to ethical ends
Last stated c. 1893–1894
Holds Read this korrent →
The idea that ethical nature, though born of cosmic nature, is necessarily at enmity with it is a fundamental truth
Last stated c. 1893–1894
Holds
It is not rational to say something is likely to end humanity in one's lifetime while planning to completely wing it.
Holds
Locking humanity into one model's or one company's moral worldview would buy a little short-term safety and cost a long-term disaster.
Holds
Coming near to bliss, immortality and divinity is likely to deflect humankind towards entirely different destinations
Last stated c. 2015–2017
Holds
We should act on the assumption that we have almost no idea what the best futures would look like, so committing today to any particular vision would be a great mistake.
Holds
Future generations are unlikely to condone our lack of prudent care for the natural world that supports all life
Last stated c. 1962
Holds
Human-level AI is most likely centuries or millennia away, so there is no reason to reorganise one's work around its arrival.
No longer holds
Longtermism, which treats fulfilling humanity's long-term potential as the overriding moral priority, is a worldview worth defending.
No longer holds
"If you're not growing, you're dying" is truer of the person than of the company.
Holds
A common-sense utopia is much closer to the present day than it is to the best futures actually available to us.
Holds
A company can run at a fast pace sustainably without constant overwork or undue stress
Holds
A country outside the AI supply chain should just buy the index — which works only in the world where AI ends up commoditised rather than concentrated.
Holds
A language model is no substitute for a well-specified conventional algorithm, so it cannot simply be dropped into a complex problem and trusted.
Holds
A model that could learn effectively from raw bitstrings or bytestrings would be extremely powerful, able to learn from any data modality
Holds
A badly written AI outbound email is evidence of a bad vendor, not of a limit of AI.
Holds
A bigger context window does not give you a smarter model; the intelligence of the model is what decides how much of that window it can actually attend to.
Holds
A body of publications is easy for AI models to consume via pretraining corpora but cumbersome for most humans due to CAPTCHAs, accounts, and paywalls.
Holds