Nick Bostrom’s latest book, Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World, will be published on 27th March, 2024. It’s available to pre-order now: https://nickbostrom.com/deep-utopia/ The publisher describes the book as follows: A greyhound catching the mechanical lure—what would he actually do with it? Has he given this any thought? Bostrom’s pr…

By Nick Bostrom, Thomas Douglas & Anders Sandberg. Abstract: In some situations a number of agents each have the ability to undertake an initiative that would have significant effects on the others. Suppose that each of these agents is purely motivated by an altruistic concern for the common good. We show that if each agent acts on her own personal…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Positions on the ethics of human enhancement technologies can be (crudely) characterized as ranging from transhumanism to bioconservatism. Transhumanists believe that human enhancement technologies should be made widely available, that individuals should have broad discretion over which of these technologies to apply to t…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: The good life: just how good could it be? A vision of the future from the future. Read the full paper: https://nickbostrom.com/utopia More episodes at: https://radiobostrom.com/ ---By Team Radio Bostrom

By Nick Bostrom. Draft version 0.9 Abstract: New theoretical ideas for a big expedition in metaethics. Read the full paper: https://nickbostrom.com/papers/mountethics.pdf More episodes at: https://radiobostrom.com/By Team Radio Bostrom

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Within a utilitarian context, one can perhaps try to explicate [crucial considerations] as follows: a crucial consideration is a consideration that radically changes the expected value of pursuing some high-level subgoal. The idea here is that you have some evaluation standard that is fixed, and you form some overall plan…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we ar…

By Nick Bostrom, Anders Sandberg, and Matthew van der Merwe. This is an updated version of The Wisdom of Nature, first published in the book Human Enhancement (Oxford University Press, 2009). Abstract: Human beings are a marvel of evolved complexity. When we try to enhance poorly-understood complex evolved systems, our interventions often fail or b…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Positions on the ethics of human enhancement technologies can be (crudely) characterized as ranging from transhumanism to bioconservatism. Transhumanists believe that human enhancement technologies should be made widely available, that individuals should have broad discretion over which of these technologies to apply to t…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: With very advanced technology, a very large population of people living happy lives could be sustained in the accessible region of the universe. For every year that development of such technologies and colonization of the universe is delayed, there is therefore an opportunity cost: a potential good, lives worth living, is…

By Nick Bostrom & Carl Shulman. Draft version 1.10. AIs with moral status and political rights? We'll need a modus vivendi, and it’s becoming urgent to figure out the parameters for that. This paper makes a load of specific claims that begin to stake out a position. Read the full paper: https://nickbostrom.com/propositions.pdf More episodes at: htt…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Technological revolutions are among the most important things that happen to humanity. This paper discusses some of the ethical and policy issues raised by anticipated technological revolutions, such as nanotechnology. Read the full paper: https://nickbostrom.com/revolutions.pdf More episodes at: https://radiobostrom.com…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Recounts the Tale of a most vicious Dragon that ate thousands of people every day, and of the actions that the King, the People, and an assembly of Dragonologists took with respect thereto. Read the full paper: https://nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon More episodes at: https://radiobostrom.com/ ---…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Existential risks are those that threaten the entire future of humanity. Many theories of value imply that even relatively small reductions in net existential risk have enormous expected value. Despite their importance, issues surrounding human-extinction risks and related hazards remain poorly understood. In this paper, …

By Nick Bostrom and Matthew van der Merwe. Abstract: Sooner or later a technology capable of wiping out human civilisation might be invented. How far would we go to stop it? Read the full paper: https://aeon.co/essays/none-of-our-technologies-has-managed-to-destroy-humanity-yet Links: - The Vulnerable World Hypothesis (2019) (original academic pape…

This series presents an introductory selection of Bostrom's work. We have narrated many more of Nick Bostrom's papers. You can find them at radiobostrom.com. This episode includes: Part 1. An abridged version of Nick Bostrom's biography Part 2. An abridged version of a text where he summarises the motivation and scope of his work. Part 3. Bostrom's…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Rarely does philosophy produce empirical predictions. The Doomsday argument is an important exception. From seemingly trivial premises it seeks to show that the risk that humankind will go extinct soon has been systematically underestimated. Nearly everybody's first reaction is that there must be something wrong with such…

By Nick Bostrom and Carl Shulman. Draft version 1.10. Abstract: AIs with moral status and political rights? We'll need a modus vivendi, and it’s becoming urgent to figure out the parameters for that. This paper makes a load of specific claims that begin to stake out a position. Read the full paper: https://nickbostrom.com/propositions.pdf More epis…

By Nick Bostrom. Draft version 0.9 Abstract: New theoretical ideas for a big expedition in metaethics. Read the full paper: https://nickbostrom.com/papers/mountethics.pdf More episodes at: https://radiobostrom.com/ --- Outline: (00:17) Metametaethics/preamble (02:48) Genealogy (09:41) Metaethics (21:30) Value representors (26:56) Moral motivation (…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Transhumanism is a way of thinking about the future that is based on the premise that the human species in its current form does not represent the end of our development but rather a comparatively early phase. We formally define it as follows: (1) The intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and des…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Evolutionary development is sometimes thought of as exhibiting an inexorable trend towards higher, more complex, and normatively worthwhile forms of life. This paper explores some dystopian scenarios where freewheeling evolutionary developments, while continuing to produce complex and intelligent forms of organization, le…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: The purpose of this paper, boldly stated, is to propose a new type of philosophy, a philosophy whose aim is prediction. The pace of technological progress is increasing very rapidly: it looks as if we are witnessing an exponential growth, the growth-rate being proportional to the size already obtained, with scientific kno…

By Nick Bostrom. Translated by Jill Drouillard. Abstract: The good life: just how good could it be? A vision of the future from the future. Read the full paper: https://www.nickbostrom.com/translations/utopie.pdf More episodes at: https://radiobostrom.com/By Team Radio Bostrom

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: This note introduces the concept of a "singleton" and suggests that this concept is useful for formulating and analyzing possible scenarios for the future of humanity. Read the full paper: https://nickbostrom.com/fut/singleton More episodes at: https://radiobostrom.com/ --- Outline: (00:18) Abstract (00:32) 1. Definition …

By Carl Shulman and Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Human capital is an important determinant of individual and aggregate economic outcomes, and a major input to scientific progress. It has been suggested that advances in genomics may open up new avenues to enhance human intellectual abilities genetically, complementing environmental interventions such as …

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: The good life: just how good could it be? A vision of the future from the future. Read the full paper: https://nickbostrom.com/utopia More episodes at: https://radiobostrom.com/By Team Radio Bostrom

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Technological revolutions are among the most important things that happen to humanity. Ethical assessment in the incipient stages of a potential technological revolution faces several difficulties, including the unpredictability of their long‐term impacts, the problematic role of human agency in bringing them about, and t…

By Nick Bostrom and Julian Savulescu. Abstract: Are we good enough? If not, how may we improve ourselves? Must we restrict ourselves to traditional methods like study and training? Or should we also use science to enhance some of our mental and physical capacities more directly? Over the last decade, human enhancement has grown into a major topic o…

By Nick Bostrom and Matthew van der Merwe. Abstract: Sooner or later a technology capable of wiping out human civilisation might be invented. How far would we go to stop it? Read the full paper: https://aeon.co/essays/none-of-our-technologies-has-managed-to-destroy-humanity-yet Links: - The Vulnerable World Hypothesis (2019) (original academic pape…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Within a utilitarian context, one can perhaps try to explicate [crucial considerations] as follows: a crucial consideration is a consideration that radically changes the expected value of pursuing some high-level subgoal. The idea here is that you have some evaluation standard that is fixed, and you form some overall plan…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: With very advanced technology, a very large population of people living happy lives could be sustained in the accessible region of the universe. For every year that development of such technologies and colonization of the universe is delayed, there is therefore an opportunity cost: a potential good, lives worth living, is…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we ar…

By Nick Bostrom and Eliezer Yudkowsky. Abstract: The possibility of creating thinking machines raises a host of ethical issues. These questions relate both to ensuring that such machines do not harm humans and other morally relevant beings, and to the moral status of the machines themselves. The first section discusses issues that may arise in the …

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Information hazards are risks that arise from the dissemination or the potential dissemination of true information that may cause harm or enable some agent to cause harm. Such hazards are often subtler than direct physical threats, and, as a consequence, are easily overlooked. They can, however, be important. This paper s…

By Nick Bostrom, Anders Sandberg, and Matthew van der Merwe. This is an updated version of The Wisdom of Nature, first published in the book Human Enhancement (Oxford University Press, 2009). Abstract: Human beings are a marvel of evolved complexity. When we try to enhance poorly-understood complex evolved systems, our interventions often fail or b…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: When water was discovered on Mars, people got very excited. Where there is water, there may be life. Scientists are planning new missions to study the planet up close. NASA’s next Mars rover is scheduled to arrive in 2010. In the decade following, a Mars Sample Return mission might be launched, which would use robotic sys…

By Nick Bostrom and Toby Ord. Abstract: In this article we argue that one prevalent cognitive bias, status quo bias, may be responsible for much of the opposition to human enhancement in general and to genetic cognitive enhancement in particular. Our strategy is as follows: first, we briefly review some of the psychological evidence for the pervasi…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Existential risks are those that threaten the entire future of humanity. Many theories of value imply that even relatively small reductions in net existential risk have enormous expected value. Despite their importance, issues surrounding human-extinction risks and related hazards remain poorly understood. In this paper, …

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Recounts the Tale of a most vicious Dragon that ate thousands of people every day, and of the actions that the King, the People, and an assembly of Dragonologists took with respect thereto. Read the full paper: https://nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon More episodes at: https://radiobostrom.com/…

By Carl Shulman & Nick Bostrom. Abstract: The minds of biological creatures occupy a small corner of a much larger space of possible minds that could be created once we master the technology of artificial intelligence. Yet many of our moral intuitions and practices are based on assumptions about human nature that need not hold for digital minds. Th…

By Nick Bostrom. Abstract: Scientific and technological progress might change people’s capabilities or incentives in ways that would destabilize civilization. For example, advances in DIY biohacking tools might make it easy for anybody with basic training in biology to kill millions; novel military technologies could trigger arms races in which whoe…