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2 years ago Issue Status: 1. Open 2. Started 3. Submitted 4. Done
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ganutf
AaronLongevity
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SeanDylan1982
In the Existential Hope-podcast (https://www.existentialhope.com/), we invite scientists to speak about long-termism. Each month, we drop a podcast episode where we interview a visionary scientist to discuss the science and technology that can accelerate humanity towards desirable outcomes.
One of the questions we always ask is for the scientist to provide an example of a potential eucatastrophe. The phrase “eucatastrophe” was originally coined by JRR Tolkien as “the sudden happy turn in a story which pierces you with a joy that brings tears”
In a paper published by the Future of Humanity Institute, written by Owen Cotton-Barratt and Toby Ord, they use Tolkien’s term to suggest that ”an existential eucatastrophe is an event which causes there to be much more expected value after the event than before.” I.e. the opposite of a catastrophe.
Telling stories can help us make what seems abstract become real and clear in our minds. Therefore we have now created a bounty based on this prompt. Use this event as a story-device to show us the picture of a day in a life where this happens. How would this make us feel? How would we react? What hope can people get from this?
An example of a Eucatastrophe by Chiara Marletto (Oxford University):
“Humanity transitioning into a society where everyone is able to think freely and creatively and not being worried about survival”
Humans can think in ways that allow endless creativity. This is what creates resilience for humanity and its survival.
If we could achieve a state in which all people are able to think freely and not need to worry about day-to-day problems that have to do with survival, like being hungry or trying to pay rent, we could achieve an ideal situation (similar to what Plato had): Time to think freely, to be creative, and to consider various problems.
Scientists try to create this in their lives, time and space where they can just think about problems freely and in peace. But it's currently too narrowly present in humanity.
It's a very utopian scenario but there might be a way to get there. Consisting of two elements:
We know that technology is supporting us in ways that bring people beyond the subsistence level where they can actually just be creative.
This event should be coupled with one in which people growing up as kids are encouraged to think in creative ways and have an instilled love for knowledge and creativity.
Today it’s hard to get people into this creative thinking and often schools don't do a good job at getting them into knowledge. So by putting these two elements together we could have a lot more people who are into problem solving than now and this would help our chances of survival enormously.
Bounty prompt
Describe a world where humanity has transitioned into a society where everyone is able to think freely and creatively and not be worried about survival.
Submit your bounty-response below for your chance to be rewarded 0.15 ETH.