Picture a computer that surpasses human intelligence on every level and can interact with the real world. Should you be terrified of such a machine? To answer that question, there's one crucial detail to consider: did this computer evolve through natural selection?

The reason is simple: natural selection is a brutally competitive process, which tends to produce creatures that are selfish and aggressive. While it is true that altruism can evolve under certain conditions (like kin selection or reciprocal altruism), the default mode is cutthroat competition. If they can get away with it, most organisms will destroy rivals in a heartbeat. Given that all of us are products of evolution, there's an ever-present temptation to project our own Darwinian demons onto future AI systems. Many folks today worry...

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I write my blog/newsletter as part of my job running the Roots of Progress Institute (RPI). RPI is a nonprofit, supported by your subscriptions and donations. If you enjoy my writing, or appreciate programs like our fellowship and conference, consider making a donation.

To those who already donate, thank you for making this possible! We now return you to your regularly scheduled links digest…

Much of this content originated on social media. To follow news and announcements in a more timely fashion, follow me on Twitter, Notes, Farcaster, Bluesky, or Threads.

Contents

• Progress Conference 2025
• Are you teaching progress at university?
• A progress talk for high schoolers
• Job opportunities
• Fellowship opportunities
• Project opportunities
• Events
• Writing announcements
• Fund announcements
• AI news
• Energy news
• Bio news
• Queries

For paid subscribers:

• A positive supply shock for truth
• Elon is perpetually in wartime mode
• The hinge of history
• More quotes
• AI doing things
• RPI

Much of this content originated on social media. To follow news and announcements in a more timely fashion, follow me on Twitter, Notes, Farcaster, Bluesky, or Threads.

Contents

• My writing (ICYMI)
• Job opportunities
• Funding opportunities
• Tech announcements
• Writing announcements
• Media announcements
• Nonprofit announcements
• Research announcements
• YIMBY announcements
• Queries
• Boom goes supersonic

For paying subscribers:

• The Ballad of the Semiconductor
• The Gods of Straight Lines
• Quotes
• Karpathy on AI
• Other people on AI
• More from social media
• Politics
• OpenAI’s “Intelligence Age” ad
• Charts
• Rocketscapes

My writing (ICYMI)

• The future of humanity is in management. Here I start to lay out a vision for human agency in the AI future
• Solutionism, part 1 (Chapter 5 of The Techno-Humanist Manifesto). Optimism vs. pessimism can be a false dichotomy. We need to fully acknowledge problems, while vigorously pursuing solutions

Job opportunities

• Boom Supersonic is hiring—see about their historic test flight below. “A small band of extremely talented and dedicated men and women made today happen.

Companies are wealthier than nation-states. With a market cap of $2.1 trillion, there are only seven countries in the world with a wealthier GDP than Apple—if it were a country, it would be part of the G7. Microsoft isn’t far behind—with a market cap of $1.9 trillion, it would be the 10th richest country in the world. Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco has a market cap more than double its country’s GDP.¹

Companies don’t have borders. Multinational corporations like Amazon, Netflix, Mitsubishi, Airbus, and BP operate around the world, with offices in many countries and employees who can easily move between them thanks to relocation packages and work visas. Though nation-states remain gridlocked against refugees and NGOs struggle to relocate them, after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, companies like...

Imagine you wake up one day in the glorious techno-abundant future, powered by AI. You eagerly check your subscriber count on Substack, but to your dismay, it has fallen once again. There are now AI-generated blogs for every interest, and it’s so hard to find a niche that isn’t taken. Your obsessive focus on the history and culture of lava lamps has only won you three paid subscribers, and that includes your mom and your old college roommate.

Well, you think, ages ago I wrote for WIRED, maybe they would take a piece? You email them and instantly get a personal reply (must be an AI autoresponder). They would be happy to take submissions, and they pay $3 per word. Great, you think, that’s a good—wait. It actually...

We're excited to announce our February book discussion featuring Bryan Caplan's Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation and Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration. 

Pathways to Progress is a community of individuals committed to understanding and contributing to human prosperity. Through our discussions, we examine technological and scientific innovation, economic development, and their role in advancing human prosperity. Each month, we read selected book(s), followed by a Q&A event with the author. Previous books include Starved for Science by Robert Paarlberg, Where's My Flying Car? by J. Storrs Hall, and Stubborn Attachments by Tyler Cowen. We also host speaker events with guests such as Jason Crawford, Matt Clancy, and Heidi Williams. Most speaker events are recorded and available on our YouTube channel.

Here's our February schedule:

• Discussion Meeting 1: Tuesday,

Much of this content originated on social media. To follow news and announcements in a more timely fashion, follow me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky, or Farcaster.

Contents

• Jobs and fellowships
• Events
• AI news
• Other news
• Atlas Shrugged and the irreplaceable founder
• Pumping stations and civic pride
• “Thoughts on the eve of AGI”
• More thoughts on AI
• Politics
• Other links and short notes
• Maps & charts
• Art
• Closing thoughts

Jobs and fellowships

• The Institute for Progress is hiring a Fellow/Senior Fellow, Emerging Technology. “Apply to ensure the AI frontier is built in America. (I’m biased, but I think this is the agenda with juice to advance the discussion in DC)” (@calebwatney). Apply here by Feb 21.
• Marian Tupy at HumanProgress.org is hiring analysts to explore the economics and psychology of human progress
• Alan Tomusiak is hiring scientists to work on the problem of genome instability (@alantomusiak)
• Ashlee

Much of this content originated on social media. To follow news and announcements in a more timely fashion, follow me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky, or Farcaster.

Contents

• My writing (ICYMI)
• Jobs and fellowships
• Announcements
• News
• Events
• Other opportunities
• We are not close to providing for everyone’s “needs”
• The printing press and the Internet
• The ultimate form of travel
• Five hot takes about progress
• What could have been, for SF
• Quick thoughts on AI
• Links and bullets
• Charts
• Pics

My writing (ICYMI)

• How sci-fi can have drama without dystopia or doomerism. “Concise but incredible resource” (@OlliPayne). “100 percent with Jason on this. If your sci-fi has technology as the problem it will put me to sleep” (@elidourado)

Jobs and fellowships

• HumanProgress.org is hiring a research associate with Excel/Python/SQL skills “to manage and expand our database on human well-being” (@HumanProgress)
• The 5050 program comes to the UK “to help great scientists and engineers become great founders and start deep