Alexander Wissner-Gross · 2015
More intelligence should leave people more choices
Markdown · JSON · Original source
Wissner-Gross suggests understanding intelligence through the future choices it opens. He proposes designing machines to expand humanity’s options, while considering safeguards and redistribution if machine and human economies separate.
Headline and sourced paraphrase by Escape Meridian. Inclusion is not endorsement.
Original source
Edge · Author essay
Original source date: 2015 (2015).
Date basis: Original page identifies the 2015 annual question; no exact publication day is supplied.
Original publisher text read on 2026-09-22; a short editorial paraphrase is stored, not the underlying work.
The date this reading was added to Escape Meridian is not recorded.
Limits
A 2015 conceptual essay, not a verified Moonshots episode position or evidence that intelligent systems are benevolent. No current endorsement is inferred.
Editorial test, not a stated concession
Look for systems that preserve many future options while reducing affected people’s real ability to refuse or act; such cases would expose a gap between the objective and human agency.
supports
The essay proposes a human-centered design objective and uses algorithmic finance as an analogy for unequal machine and human participation.
Source and contributor context
Alexander Wissner-Gross · Scientist, inventor, entrepreneur and investor in the 2015 essay
Published research on causal entropic forces and adaptive human–robot teaming.
A model of intelligent behavior does not demonstrate that advanced systems will protect human freedom.
Declared interests are limited to the records linked here; absence of a record does not establish absence of an interest.
Assumptions
Editorial reconstruction: future freedom can be specified well enough to guide a system’s behavior.
Editorial reconstruction: increasing aggregate options can be reconciled with conflicting people’s rights.
Source media
No relevant image, video or audio was found on the inspected source page. Logos and unrelated images were excluded.
Questions between perspectives
Editorial comparison; no direct exchange established: Who decides what counts as human freedom, and how can that decision be challenged?
Terms and references
Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement.
Alexander Wissner-Gross
Alexander Wissner-Gross is a scientist and entrepreneur who writes The Innermost Loop and discusses technology on Moonshots.
Moonshots with Peter Diamandis
Moonshots with Peter Diamandis discusses emerging technologies and ambitious forecasts with builders, researchers and investors.
Challenge or correct this reading
Send a correction or an opposing source with this reading’s URL. Disagreement and uncertainty can remain unresolved.