The Techno-Optimists: The Longtermists

Reader: Last time we talked about e/acc and their enthusiasm for acceleration. But you mentioned they positioned themselves explicitly against another movement—effective altruism. I’m guessing there’s more to that story? Hilma: Much more. And to understand the full landscape of techno-optimism, we need to explore what I consider e/acc’s sibling ideology: Longtermism. First, let me clarify the relationship between Longtermism and effective altruism, because it’s crucial to understanding what’s going on here. Effective altruism—EA—began around 2009 as a movement dedicated to using reason and evidence to do the most good possible. Initially, it focused on measurable, near-term interventions: preventing malaria deaths, giving cash directly to people in extreme poverty, reducing animal suffering. These were concrete problems with trackable outcomes. But over time, many of EA’s leading figures shifted focus toward what they called “Longtermism”—the idea that influencing the far future should

saved by

• Svitlana Midianko