Guive Assadi is a Research Scholar at the Center for the Governance of AI. Guive’s research focuses on the conceptual clarification of, and prioritisation among, potential risks posed by emerging technologies. He holds a master’s in history from Cambridge University, and a bachelor’s from UC Berkeley.
In this episode, we discuss Guive's paper, 'Will Humanity Choose Its Future?'.

What is an 'evolutionary future', and would it count as an existential catastrophe?
How did the agricultural revolution deliver a world which few people would have chosen?
What does it mean to say that we are living in the 'dreamtime'? Will it last?
What competitive pressures in the future could drive the world to undesired outcomes?
Digital minds
Space settlement


What measures could prevent an evolutionary future, and allow humanity to more deliberately choose its future?
World government
Strong global coordination
Defensive advantage


Should this all make us more or less hopeful about humanity's future?
Ideas for further research

Guive's recommended reading:

Rationalist Explanations for War by James D. Fearon
Meditations on Moloch by Scott Alexander
The Age of Em by Robin Hanson
What is a Singleton? By Nick Bostrom

Other key links:

Will Humanity Choose Its Future? by Guive Assadi
Colder Wars by Gwern
The Secret of Our Success: How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter by Joseph Henrich (and a review by Scott Alexander)