What We Owe the Future

In this book, William MacAskill advocates for longtermism, the idea that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority.

He argues that future people count, there could be many of them, and we can make their lives better.

MacAskill discusses various threats to humanity, including climate change, AI misalignment, and pandemics, and proposes strategies to ensure civilization's survival and improve its trajectory.

The book explores moral and philosophical issues surrounding longtermism, including the risks of human extinction, civilizational collapse, and technological stagnation, while offering a measured optimism about the future's potential for human flourishing.