Very much enjoyed this post, thank you. Before getting into EA and existential risk reduction, Steven Pinker’s book on progress and Enlightenment values was a major influence on my intellectual worldview. Later learning about all of these x-risks was indeed a bit of a wet blanket, as you say!
So it’s great for me to read this thoughtful post analyzing the interaction between these two points of view. Still need to let some of your points sink in, and I haven’t read all of Bostrom’s writing that you’re responding to yet.
Very much enjoyed this post, thank you. Before getting into EA and existential risk reduction, Steven Pinker’s book on progress and Enlightenment values was a major influence on my intellectual worldview. Later learning about all of these x-risks was indeed a bit of a wet blanket, as you say!
So it’s great for me to read this thoughtful post analyzing the interaction between these two points of view. Still need to let some of your points sink in, and I haven’t read all of Bostrom’s writing that you’re responding to yet.