Existential Hope Podcast: Robin Hanson | On Futurism and his Best Career Advice

Is Robin Hanson feeling hopeful about the future? What future does he want to see? How big can the future be? In this episode of the Existential Hope podcast, we ask Robin Hanson about his reflections on the future, and we also collect his best career advice.

Hanson is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and a research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. 

Robin speaks on how people tend to think about the future, his Grabby Alien paper and the Fermi Paradox, his career as a researcher within multiple fields, and much more!

Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: Robin Hanson | On Futurism & His Best Career Advice

Existential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future, so that we can have more people commit to the creation of a brighter future, and to start mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Find all previous podcast episodes here.

The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.

Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize.

Beatrice Erkers is Chief of Operations at Foresight Institute, and program manager of the Existential Hope group. She has a background in publishing and years of experience working with communication at Foresight and at a publishing house. 

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