Executive summary: This reflective essay uses Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s 14th-century Allegory of Good Government as inspiration to imagine the virtues that might guide wise and kind governance in a post-AGI world, arguing that we need more positive visions of what good government could look like under transformative AI rather than only focusing on risks.
Key points:
Lorenzetti’s frescoes in Siena celebrated the virtues and effects of good government, highlighting peace, justice, and prosperity as civic ideals—an early secular vision of governance.
The author argues that AI could dissolve the traditional dependence of governments on human labor and cooperation, radically changing or even undermining the nation-state.
Unlike historical transitions from religious to secular government or city-states to nations, the AI transition will be far faster and more profound, and thus requires new guiding visions.
Proposed core virtues for post-AGI governance are wisdom (augmenting and spreading deep human insight) and kindness (institutional care for human flourishing, beyond instrumental incentives).
Additional virtues include:
Peace as a technological project making war an unviable strategy.
Temperance as ecological restraint in AI infrastructure.
Freedom as radical expansion of individual choice and autonomy.
Humanity as preservation of uniquely human value and dignity.
Grace as aesthetic and moral harmony in governance.
The author stresses the need for hopeful, constructive visions—allegories of good post-AGI government—since clinging to old institutions or focusing only on failures risks preserving a bleak or chaotic future.
A postscript recalls Siena’s devastation by the Black Death to illustrate how fragile human life and dignity can be, underscoring the stakes of navigating the AI transition well.
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Executive summary: This reflective essay uses Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s 14th-century Allegory of Good Government as inspiration to imagine the virtues that might guide wise and kind governance in a post-AGI world, arguing that we need more positive visions of what good government could look like under transformative AI rather than only focusing on risks.
Key points:
Lorenzetti’s frescoes in Siena celebrated the virtues and effects of good government, highlighting peace, justice, and prosperity as civic ideals—an early secular vision of governance.
The author argues that AI could dissolve the traditional dependence of governments on human labor and cooperation, radically changing or even undermining the nation-state.
Unlike historical transitions from religious to secular government or city-states to nations, the AI transition will be far faster and more profound, and thus requires new guiding visions.
Proposed core virtues for post-AGI governance are wisdom (augmenting and spreading deep human insight) and kindness (institutional care for human flourishing, beyond instrumental incentives).
Additional virtues include:
Peace as a technological project making war an unviable strategy.
Temperance as ecological restraint in AI infrastructure.
Freedom as radical expansion of individual choice and autonomy.
Humanity as preservation of uniquely human value and dignity.
Grace as aesthetic and moral harmony in governance.
The author stresses the need for hopeful, constructive visions—allegories of good post-AGI government—since clinging to old institutions or focusing only on failures risks preserving a bleak or chaotic future.
A postscript recalls Siena’s devastation by the Black Death to illustrate how fragile human life and dignity can be, underscoring the stakes of navigating the AI transition well.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.