Jason Crawford on how technology expands human choice and control

Our fast-paced world isn’t spinning out of our control; we’re actually becoming more capable of steering it than ever before. Throughout history, technological progress has expanded human agency, that is our ability to choose our destiny rather than being subject to the whims of nature.

Jason Crawford, founder of the Roots of Progress Institute, joins the podcast to discuss The Techno-Humanist Manifesto, his book exploring his philosophy of progress centered around human life and wellbeing. 

In our conversation, we dive into the core arguments of the manifesto:

• How we are more in control of our lives than ever before
• Why we should reframe the goal of “stopping climate change” into “controlling climate change” and work toward installing a “thermostat for the Earth”
• The value of nature and its interaction with humanity
• Allowing ourselves to celebrate human achievement and industrial civilization
• The concept of “solutionism”, as a kind of optimism that acknowledges risks while keeping a proactive attitude towards solving problems
• Why two common fears around the slowing of progress – that we could run out of natural resources or new ideas – are actually unfounded
• The possibility that AI represents a transformation as significant as the Industrial Revolution or the invention of agriculture
• How to rebuild a culture of progress in the 21st century, from reforming scientific institutions to creating new, non-dystopian science fiction

Chapters:

[00:00] Cold open

[01:30] Intro: Jason Crawford and the Techno-Humanist Manifesto

[04:10] Defining progress as the expansion of human agency

[06:16] How to use our newfound agency to live a meaningful life

[10:07] Climate control: installing a “thermostat” for the Earth

[13:26] Anthropocentrism and the value of nature

[19:41] Ode to man: celebrating human achievement

[20:53] Solutionism: believing in our problem-solving abilities to tackle risks

[26:26] Why pessimism sounds smart but misses the solution space

[31:29] The myth of finite natural resources and the power of knowledge

[34:27] Why we are getting better at finding ideas faster than they get harder to find

[39:03] The Intelligence Age: a new mode of production

[41:19] Amplifying human agency in an AI-driven world

[43:09] Developing a healthy relationship with AI and attention

[46:28] The culture of progress and why we soured on the future

[50:10] Building the infrastructure for a global progress movement

[53:54] A 20-year vision for progress studies in the mainstream

[57:33] High-leverage regulations for progress: from nuclear to supersonic flight

[58:57] Jason Crawford’s existential hope vision

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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