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Three Sentences That Could Change the World – and Your Life
Podcast

Three Sentences That Could Change the World – and Your Life

The philosopher William MacAskill lays out the case for longtermism: “Future people count. There could be a lot of them. And we can make their lives better.”

Ezra Klein and William MacAskill
The New York Times, 2022
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Visionary
  • Hot Topic

Recommendation

Ezra Klein’s conversation with British philosopher William MacAskill probes what “longtermism” could mean for humanity’s future. If humanity survives existential crises such as nuclear war and climate disaster, there could be billions, even trillions of people in the coming millennia. What can people do today to vouchsafe their success? MacAskill posits that a broad moral framework can guide long-term thinking, and society should have a nuanced approach to transformative technologies. While the future is always shifting, humans have a moral obligation to their species’ future.

Take-Aways

  • “Future people count. There could be a lot of them. We can make their lives better.”
  • Today’s values may endure for centuries, guiding human decision-making about AI and ideology.
  • Human civilization is currently very “plastic,” and open to new ideas and technologies.

About the Podcast

Ezra Klein is an American journalist and host of The Ezra Klein Show podcast for The New York Times. He is the author of Why We’re Polarized. William MacAskill is a Scottish philosopher and ethicist. He is an associate professor in philosophy at the University of Oxford and the author of What We Owe the Future.

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