BREAKING NEWS
Cloud Server Hosting For Online Businesses
Inexpensive SEO Services
Benefits of Wanting to play Free Online Slot machines
Effective accelerationism

Summary

Effective accelerationism, often abbreviated as "e/acc", is a 21st-century philosophical movement that advocates for an explicitly pro-technology stance. Its proponents believe that unrestricted technological progress (especially driven by artificial intelligence) is a solution to universal human problems like poverty, war and climate change.[1] They see themselves as a counterweight to more cautious views on technological innovation, often giving their opponents the derogatory labels of "doomers" or "decels" (short for deceleration).[1][2]

The movement carries utopian undertones and argues that humans need to develop and build faster to ensure their survival and propagate consciousness throughout the universe.[3] Its founders Guillaume Verdon and the pseudonymous Bayeslord see it as a way to "usher in the next evolution of consciousness, creating unthinkable next-generation lifeforms."[4]

Although effective accelerationism has been described as a fringe movement, it has gained mainstream visibility in 2023.[4][5] A number of high-profile Silicon Valley figures, including investors Marc Andreessen, Garry Tan, and Martin Shkreli explicitly endorsed it by adding "e/acc" to their public social media profiles.[4][5]

Etymology and central beliefs edit

Effective accelerationism, a portmanteau of "effective altruism" and "accelerationism",[2] is a fundamentally techno-optimist movement.[6] According to Guillaume Verdon, one of the movement's founders, its aim is for human civilization to "clim[b] the Kardashev gradient", meaning its purpose is for human civilization to rise to next levels on the Kardashev scale by maximizing energy usage.[6]

To achieve this goal, effective accelerationism wants to accelerate technological progress. It is strongly focused on artificial general intelligence (AGI), because it sees AGI as fundamental for climbing the Kardashev scale.[6] The movement therefore advocates for unrestricted development and deployment of artificial intelligence.[7] Regulation of artificial intelligence and government intervention in markets more generally is met with opposition. Many of its proponents have libertarian views and think that AGI will be most aligned if many AGIs compete against each other on the marketplace.[6]

The founders of the movement see it as rooted in Jeremy England's theory on the origin of life, which is focused on entropy and thermodynamics.[6] According to them, the universe aims to increase entropy, and life is a way of increasing it. By spreading life throughout the universe and making life use up ever increasing amounts of energy, the universe's purpose would thus be fulfilled.[6]

History edit

Intellectual origins edit

While Nick Land is seen as the intellectual originator of contemporary accelerationism in general,[5][4] the precise origins of effective accelerationism remain unclear. The earliest known reference to the movement can be traced back to a May 2022 newsletter published by four pseudonymous authors known by their X (formerly Twitter) usernames @BasedBeffJezos, @bayeslord, @zestular and @creatine_cycle.[5]

Effective accelerationism incorporates elements of older Silicon Valley subcultures such as transhumanism and extropianism, which similarly emphasized the value of progress and resisted efforts to restrain the development of technology, as well as the work of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit.[4][8][6]

Disclosure of the identity of BasedBeffJezos edit

Forbes disclosed in December 2023 that the @BasedBeffJezos persona is maintained by Guillaume Verdon, a Canadian former Google quantum computing engineer and theoretical physicist.[9] The revelation was supported by a voice analysis conducted by the National Center for Media Forensics of the University of Colorado Denver, which further confirmed the match between Jezos and Verdon. The magazine justified its decision to disclose Verdon's identity on the grounds of it being "in the public interest".[9]

On 29 December 2023 Guillaume Verdon was interviewed by Lex Fridman on the Lex Fridman Podcast and introduced as the "founder of [the] e/acc (effective accelerationism) movement".[10]

Relation to other movements edit

Traditional accelerationism edit

Traditional accelerationism, as developed by the British philosopher Nick Land, sees the acceleration of technological change as a way to bring about a fundamental transformation of current culture, society, and the political economy.[1] In his earlier writings he saw the acceleration of capitalism as a way to overcome this economic system itself.[1] In contrast, effective accelerationism does not seek to overcome capitalism or to introduce radical societal change but tries to maximize the probability of a technocapital singularity, triggering an intelligence explosion throughout the universe and maximizing energy usage.[5][6]

Effective altruism edit

Effective accelerationism also diverges from the principles of effective altruism, which prioritizes using evidence and reasoning to identify the most effective ways to altruistically improve the world.[1] This divergence especially comes from one school of thought within effective altruism – longtermism. Under a longtermist view, a very cautious handling of AGI is necessary to secure a human-aligned AGI, because longtermists fear that any misaligned AGI could lead to human extinction in the end.[6]

In contrast, effective accelerationism emphasizes the transformative potential of technology and capitalism.[11][12] Its proponents consider that existential risks from AGI are negligible, and that even if they were not, decentralized free markets would much better mitigate this risk than centralized governmental regulation.[6]

Degrowth edit

Effective accelerationism also stands in stark contrast with the degrowth movement, sometimes described by it as "decelerationism". The degrowth movement advocates for reducing economic activity and consumption to address ecological and social issues. Effective accelerationism on the contrary embraces technological progress, energy consumption and the dynamics of capitalism, rather than advocating for a reduction in economic activity.[11]

Reception edit

The "Techno-Optimist Manifesto",[13] a 2023 essay by Marc Andreessen, has been described by the Financial Times and the German Süddeutsche Zeitung as espousing the views of effective accelerationism.[3][14]

David Swan of the The Sydney Morning Herald has criticized effective accelerationism due to its opposition to government and industry self-regulation. He argues that "innovations like AI needs thoughtful regulations and guardrails [...] to avoid the myriad mistakes Silicon Valley has already made".[15] During the 2023 Reagan National Defense Forum, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo cautioned against embracing the "move fast and break things" mentality associated with "effective acceleration [sic]". She emphasized the need to exercise caution in dealing with AI, stating "that's too dangerous. You can't break things when you are talking about AI".[4][16] In a similar vein, Ellen Huet argued on Bloomberg News that some of the ideas of the movement were "deeply unsettling", focusing especially on Guillaume Verdon's "post-humanism" and the view that "natural selection could lead AI to replace us [humans] as the dominant species."[17]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Soufi, Daniel (6 January 2024). "'Accelerate or die,' the controversial ideology that proposes the unlimited advance of artificial intelligence". El País. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b MacColl, Margaux (7 October 2023). "It's a Cult': Inside Effective Accelerationism, the Pro-AI Movement Taking Over Silicon Valley". The Information. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b Hurtz, Simon (10 November 2023). "Tech-Szene im Silicon Valley: Ihr Gott ist die KI". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Roose, Kevin (10 December 2023). "This A.I. Subculture's Motto: Go, Go, Go". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e Chowdhury, Hasan (28 July 2023). "Silicon Valley's favorite obscure theory about progress at all costs, which has been embraced by Marc Andreessen". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Torres, Émile P. (14 December 2023). "'Effective Accelerationism' and the Pursuit of Cosmic Utopia". Truthdig. Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  7. ^ Jones, Rachyl (16 October 2023). "Marc Andreessen just dropped a 'Techno-Optimist Manifesto' that sees a world of 50 billion people settling other planets". Fortune. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  8. ^ Breland, Ali (6 December 2023). "Meet the Silicon Valley CEOs who say greed is good—even if it kills us all". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b Baker-White, Emily (1 December 2023). "Who Is @BasedBeffJezos, The Leader Of The Tech Elite's 'E/Acc' Movement?". Forbes. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  10. ^ Guillaume Verdon: Beff Jezos, E/acc Movement, Physics, Computation & AGI (Podcast). Lex Fridman Podcast. Vol. 407. 29 December 2023. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  11. ^ a b Wilhelm, Alex (20 November 2023). "Effective accelerationism, doomers, decels, and how to flaunt your AI priors". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  12. ^ Leroy, Thomas (23 November 2023). "Effective altruism, effective accelerationism: quels sont ces deux courants qui divisent le monde de l'IA ?". BFM TV (in French). Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  13. ^ Andreessen, Marc (16 October 2023). "The Techno-Optimist Manifesto". Andreessen Horowitz. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  14. ^ Kelly, Jemima (22 October 2023). "I read Andreessen's 'techno-optimist manifesto' so you don't have to". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  15. ^ Swan, David (29 October 2023). "'We are conquerors': Why Silicon Valley's latest fad is its deadliest". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  16. ^ Reagan National Defense Forum. Simi Valley: Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute. 2 December 2023. Event occurs at 21:03. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ Huet, Ellen (6 December 2023). "A Cultural Divide Over AI Forms in Silicon Valley". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.

External links edit

  • Jezos, Beff; Bayeslord (10 July 2022). "Notes on e/acc principles and tenets". Beff's Newsletter. Substack.

By using this platform, you agree to the Terms of Use ©2020 Knowpia