I imagine our descendants looking back at those few centuries, and seeing some set of humans, amidst much else calling for attention, lifting their gaze, crunching a few numbers, and recognizing the outlines of something truly strange and extraordinary — that somehow, they live at the very beginning, in the most ancient past; that something immense and incomprehensible and profoundly important is possible, and just starting, and in need of protection.
I imagine our descendants saying: “*Yes*. You can see it. Don’t look away. Don’t forget. Don’t mess up. The pieces are all there. Go slow. Be careful. It’s really possible.” I imagine them looking back through time at their distant ancestors, and seeing some of those ancestors, looking forward through time, at them. I imagine eyes meeting.
This post was only published recently and I only read it today, so I can’t yet say that this inspired me to use my resources to effectively help others. But I think the sort of idea it points to has indeed inspired me, and I found that passage excellent and expect it will inspire me in future.
(Note that the original post contains some caveats, e.g. “To be clear: this is some mix between thought experiment and fantasy. It’s not a forecast, or an argument. In particular, the empirical picture I assumed above may just be wrong in various key ways.”)
-Joseph Carlsmith, On future people, looking back at 21st century longtermism
This post was only published recently and I only read it today, so I can’t yet say that this inspired me to use my resources to effectively help others. But I think the sort of idea it points to has indeed inspired me, and I found that passage excellent and expect it will inspire me in future.
(Note that the original post contains some caveats, e.g. “To be clear: this is some mix between thought experiment and fantasy. It’s not a forecast, or an argument. In particular, the empirical picture I assumed above may just be wrong in various key ways.”)