Will MacAskill
Showing 1–7 of 7 transcripts.
- 80,000 Hours3h 15m
How we survive the intelligence explosion | Will MacAskill
The event analyzes AI character design, risk-averse economic mechanisms, and international coalitions to mitigate the concentration of power among few leading companies. Key proposals include deploying pro-social AIs for public interaction, establishing AI constitutions, and using non-causal decision theory to coordinate global moral goods without coercion. While opposing broad capability pauses, speakers advocate for slowing the intelligence explosion through compute tracking and legal frameworks that prioritize gradual adaptation over sudden stoppages.
- 80,000 Hours1h 38m
2025 Highlight-o-thon: Oops! All Bests
Kyle Fish, Ian Dunt, Sam Bowman, Buck Shlegeris, Luisa, Rob, Helen Toner, Hugh White, Paul Scharre, Beth Barnes, Tyler Whitmer, Toby Ord, Andrew Snyder-Beattie, Eileen Yam, Will MacAskill, Neel Nanda, Tom Davidson, Marius Hobbhahn, Holden Karnofsky, Allan Dafoe, Ryan Greenblatt, Daniel Kokotajlo, Dean Ball
This forum convened experts to debate the accelerating timeline of AGI by 2029 while critiquing US geopolitical strategies for abandoning global primacy in favor of a multipolar order. Participants examined critical risks including AI scheming, biological defense asymmetries, and the erosion of human context in warfare, contrasting them with corporate reforms at OpenAI and the rising costs of AI inference. The discourse further highlighted the widening perception gap between AI developers and the public, the potential of mechanistic interpretability as an "AI biology," and the structural necessity of aligning urban planning with community quality of life rather than NIMBYism.
- 80,000 Hours3h 35m
The bewildering frontier of consciousness in insects, AI, and more | 17 experts weigh in
Luisa, Robert Long, Jeff Sebo, Meghan Barrett, Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla, Jonathan Birch, David Chalmers, Holden Karnofsky, Bob Fischer, Cameron Meyer Shorb, Sébastien Moro, Anil Seth, Peter Godfrey-Smith, Lewis Bollard, Stuart Russell, Buck Shlegeris, Will MacAskill, Carl Shulman
A panel of leading neuroscientists and philosophers, including Megan Barrett, Robert Long, and David Chalmers, explores the ethical frameworks required to address the potential sentience of invertebrates and artificial intelligence amid profound uncertainty. Participants argue that the vast global populations of invertebrates and the theoretical possibility of conscious silicon-based systems necessitate a precautionary moral approach to prevent mass suffering and exploitation. The discussion concludes that current evidence, while inconclusive regarding a definitive "sentience score," is sufficient to warrant legal protections and the development of cooperative economic models for these potentially conscious entities.
- 80,000 Hours1h 47m
Guilt, imposter syndrome & doing good: 16 past guests share their mental health journeys
Luisa Rodriguez, Howie, Randy Nesse, Hannah Boettcher, Cameron Meyer Shorb, Tim LeBon, Cal Newport, Michelle Hutchinson, Habiba Islam, Sarah Eustis-Guthrie, Hannah Ritchie, Will MacAskill, Ajeya Cotra, Christian Ruhl, Leah Garcés, Kelsey Piper
Effective altruists and professionals including former 80,000 Hours CEO Howie Ritchie and Mercy for Animals CEO Leah Garces convened to confront the toxicity of moral perfectionism and its link to chronic anxiety and burnout. Participants identified evolutionary psychological mechanisms and the destructive nature of shame as primary drivers of these struggles, while contrasting them with the performance-enhancing benefits of self-compassion and sustainable work cycles. The collective outcome emphasized a strategic shift toward decoupling self-worth from productivity, adopting mandatory self-care policies, and fostering community structures that normalize non-linear health journeys to ensure long-term impact.
- 80,000 Hours2h 17m
Frugality vs ambition, longtermism, and mental health under pressure | Will MacAskill (2022)
Will MacAskill details the rigorous, two-year production of his book *What We Owe the Future*, which argues that moral values are historically contingent rather than inevitable and challenges the assumption of long-term convergence. As an advisor to the Sam Bankman-Fried and Nick Beckstead-backed Future Fund, MacAskill outlines a strategic shift toward funding massive, scalable existential risk projects while advocating for a high-risk, high-reward culture of ambition within the effective altruism movement. The discussion further explores essential frameworks for personal well-being, the dangers of mission drift amidst rapid capital influx, and specific grant-winning initiatives like the Lead Exposure Elimination Project in Malawi.
Will MacAskill - Longtermism, Effective Altruism, History, & Technology
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- 80,000 Hours1h 53m
#17 - Prof Will MacAskill on moral uncertainty, utilitarianism & how to avoid being a moral monster
Prof Will MacAskill, Will MacAskill, Rob Wiblin
Will McCaskill reflects on the transition of the Effective Altruism movement from its origins in GiveWell and Giving What We Can to its current status as a global network, while stepping down as CEO of the Center for Effective Altruism to pursue academic leadership in moral uncertainty research. He argues that decision-making should analogously apply expected value reasoning to moral theories, proposing a "Long Reflection" era where humanity resolves fundamental value questions before committing to irreversible actions. Despite these theoretical advances, McCaskill emphasizes the necessity of addressing critiques regarding justice, institutional bias, and the need for greater diversity to prevent the community from stagnating in groupthink.