ACX
Profile: The Far Out Initiative
The post explores the Far Out Initiative's goal to eliminate suffering through biotechnology, inspired by a pain-free woman and David Pearce's philosophy.
28 min read 4,249 words
A thread through the archive
transhumanism
Essays tagged “transhumanism”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Essays on transhumanism
13 essaysACX
Should The Future Be Human?
Scott Alexander examines the ethical implications of AI potentially replacing humans, arguing for careful consideration in AI development rather than blind acceptance.
10 min read 1,548 words
ACX
Most Technologies Aren't Races
Scott Alexander challenges the idea of an 'AI race', comparing AI to other transformative technologies and discussing scenarios where the race concept might apply.
12 min read 1,754 words
ACX
Semaglutidonomics
Scott Alexander analyzes the economic and societal implications of semaglutide, a new effective weight loss drug, and its potential to reshape obesity treatment.
28 min read 4,293 words
SSC
The Tails Coming Apart As Metaphor For Life
The post explores how correlated variables can diverge at extreme values, applying this concept to happiness measures and moral systems.
15 min read 2,310 words
SSC
Classified Thread 2: Best In Classified
Scott Alexander posts a classified thread and advertises rationalist community housing in Berkeley, describing four available houses and inviting applications.
3 min read 447 words
SSC
Book Review: Age of Em
Scott Alexander reviews Robin Hanson's 'Age of Em', praising its creativity while critiquing its assumptions and arguing the future may be even stranger.
59 min read 9,060 words
SSC
The Goddess of Everything Else
A mythological tale contrasts the Goddess of Cancer's primal drives with the Goddess of Everything Else's push for cooperation and progress, showing how the latter gradually wins over creation.
16 min read 2,353 words
SSC
Everything Not Obligatory Is Forbidden
A satirical future op-ed argues that not giving children 'super-enhancement gene therapy' is child abuse, mirroring current pro-vaccination arguments.
5 min read 719 words
SSC
Meditations On Moloch
Scott Alexander analyzes Moloch as a metaphor for destructive societal coordination problems, using various examples to show how competing incentives can lead to negative outcomes.
97 min read 14,959 words
SSC
Transhumanist Fables
Scott Alexander rewrites classic fairy tales to illustrate transhumanist and rationalist concepts, each ending with a moral lesson related to these philosophies.
6 min read 822 words
LW
2011 Survey Results
Scott Alexander presents comprehensive results from the 2011 Less Wrong survey of 1090 respondents, covering demographics, beliefs, probability estimates on various topics, and a calibration test that shows the community performs better than average but has some calibration issues.
16 min read 2,383 words
LW
Approving reinforces low-effort behaviors
Scott presents a framework of 'liking,' 'wanting,' and 'approving' to explain behavior, then shows how people use low-effort approving-influenced actions (like making public commitments) to influence harder behaviors through strategic self-manipulation.
8 min read 1,087 words