Founder, The Roots of Progress (rootsofprogress.org). Part-time tech consultant, Our World in Data. Former software engineering manager and tech startup founder.
jasoncrawford
Karma: 7,975
No silver bullet: Lessons about how to create safety from the history of fire
How to tame a complex system
My 2025 in review
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto, wrapup and publishing announcement
Progress links and short notes, 2025-12-19
In defense of slop
Announcing Progress in Medicine, a high school summer career exploration program
Sure, we should certainly be active about shaping the course of progress.
It is our responsibility to develop a healthy relationship with our technology
Chesterton’s Missing Fence
The Roots of Progress wants your stories about the AI frontier
Progress links and short notes, 2025-05-31: RPI fellowship deadline tomorrow, Edge Esmeralda next week, and more
In the Hornblower series of novels, at one point Captain Hornblower surrenders to the enemy during a naval battle. He is captured by the French, but later escapes. When he gets home, he’s put on trial for surrendering. They finally acquit him when it is revealed that he had lost something like half (maybe two-thirds?) of his crew—basically massive casualties. But surrendering was considered guilty until proven innocent.
Where is the YIMBY movement for healthcare?
This pairs well with Scott Alexander’s Kolmogorov Complicity And The Parable Of Lightning
I still like this post. I worked some of this material into “The Progress Agenda” (the last essay in the series The Techno-Humanist Manifesto), and updated it a bit with some more quotes and citations.