Hope Drop #29: Kristian Rönn: The Darwinian Trap That Explains Our World
"All of the big global challenges—climate change, rogue AI, global pandemics, nuclear war—have the same root cause: coordination problems and overall shortsightedness."
When people talk about today’s biggest challenges they tend to frame the conversation around “bad people” doing “bad things.” But is there more to the story?
In this month’s Hope Drop we speak to Kristian Rönn, an entrepreneur formerly affiliated with the Future of Humanity Institute. Kristian calls these deeply rooted impulses “Darwinian demons.” These forces, a by-product of natural selection, can lead us to act in shortsighted ways that harm others—and even imperil our survival as a species. In our latest episode, Kristian explains how we can escape these evolutionary traps through cooperation and innovative thinking.
Kristian's new book, The Darwinian Trap, is being published on September 24th. Be sure to preorder it today!
Kristian’s Recommended Resources
"The Darwinian Trap" by Kristian Rönn
Scott Alexander's post "Meditations on Moloch"
The Win Win Podcast by Liv Boeree
Kristian’s Vision for the Future: Reputational Markets to Manage What Humankind Really Values
Kristian envisions reputational markets as a game-changer for global business. This system would allow everyone to collectively manage and value reputations, rather than having any single entity in control. Companies would be motivated to act ethically to maintain a good reputation and the right incentives would drive widespread, long-term focus on values and ethical behavior. This shift would help move away from shortsightedness and the tendency to overly optimize for financial incentives rather than what we truly care about.
Xhope Library Recommendations
What is Intelligence? - Kurzgesagt. Intro-level explainer video defining intelligence.
Life 3.0 - Max Tegmark. On how AI affects crime, war, justice, jobs, society and our understanding of being human.
Avoiding the Precipice: Race Avoidance in the Development of AI - Olga Afanasjeva, Jan Feyereisl, Marek Havdra. Maps out various races with their actors, and potential responses.
An Open Agency Architecture for Safe Transformative AI - Davidad. A proposal for an AI system that ends the risk period without causing catastrophic harm.
Community Updates
Over the past 70 years, science fiction has dramatically changed. The data shows us that what used to be an optimistic and inspiring genre has evolved to reflect our own fears and anxieties.
Metaculus: 5 Years After AGI Series
How will power be distributed in a post-AGI world? Might some scientific advances backfire? How exactly will AGI be used for the benefit of all. Explore Metaculus' new series.
Learn more about our work at existentialhope.com.