{"id":"wissner-gross-human-options","title":"More intelligence should leave people more choices","topicIds":["work-and-agency","institutions-and-trust"],"domain":"capability","speaker":{"name":"Alexander Wissner-Gross","roleAtSource":"Scientist, inventor, entrepreneur and investor in the 2015 essay","expertise":"Published research on causal entropic forces and adaptive human–robot teaming.","claimBoundary":"A model of intelligent behavior does not demonstrate that advanced systems will protect human freedom.","bioSources":[{"title":"Author biography and publication list","url":"https://alexwg.org/"},{"title":"Original contributor byline","url":"https://edge.org/response-detail/26181"}],"declaredInterests":[{"text":"His current biography identifies AI company leadership and investment activity; these are current disclosures, not verified 2015 holdings.","url":"https://alexwg.org/"}]},"source":{"title":"Engines of Freedom","publisher":"Edge","format":"Author essay","url":"https://edge.org/response-detail/26181","publishedAt":"2015","dateBasis":"Original page identifies the 2015 annual question; no exact publication day is supplied.","anchor":{"label":"Human freedom, safety design and the intelligence divide","url":"https://edge.org/response-detail/26181"},"accessNote":"Original publisher text read on 2026-09-22; a short editorial paraphrase is stored, not the underlying work."},"argument":"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.","claimType":"normative proposal","evidence":[{"text":"The essay proposes a human-centered design objective and uses algorithmic finance as an analogy for unequal machine and human participation.","url":"https://edge.org/response-detail/26181","kind":"normative","relationship":"supports"}],"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."],"whatWouldChangeView":{"attribution":"Editorial test, not a stated concession","text":"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."},"limits":"A 2015 conceptual essay, not a verified Moonshots episode position or evidence that intelligent systems are benevolent. No current endorsement is inferred.","discussionQuestion":"Whose choices should an intelligent system be trying to expand?","relatedSignalIds":["public-expert-expectation-gap"],"editorialComparisons":[{"positionId":"ai-now-public-power","relationship":"Editorial comparison; no direct exchange established","question":"Who decides what counts as human freedom, and how can that decision be challenged?"}],"sourceMedia":{"status":"not_found","sourceUrl":"https://edge.org/response-detail/26181","checkedAt":"2026-10-15T20:07:33.560800Z","items":[],"note":"No relevant image, video or audio was found on the inspected source page. Logos and unrelated images were excluded."},"canonicalUrl":"https://escapemeridian.com/readings/wissner-gross-human-options","formats":{"html":"/readings/wissner-gross-human-options","markdown":"/readings/wissner-gross-human-options.md","json":"/readings/wissner-gross-human-options.json"},"attribution":"Headline and sourced paraphrase by Escape Meridian. Inclusion is not endorsement.","readerContext":{"version":"reader-context-v1","attribution":"Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement.","terms":[],"entities":[{"id":"alexander-wissner-gross","name":"Alexander Wissner-Gross","kind":"person","context":"Alexander Wissner-Gross is a scientist and entrepreneur who writes The Innermost Loop and discusses technology on Moonshots.","referenceUrls":["https://alexwg.org/","https://theinnermostloop.substack.com/","https://www.diamandis.com/podcast","https://edge.org/response-detail/26181"],"path":"/entities/alexander-wissner-gross","json":"/entities/alexander-wissner-gross.json","markdown":"/entities/alexander-wissner-gross.md"},{"id":"moonshots-podcast","name":"Moonshots with Peter Diamandis","kind":"show","context":"Moonshots with Peter Diamandis discusses emerging technologies and ambitious forecasts with builders, researchers and investors.","referenceUrls":["https://www.diamandis.com/podcast"],"path":"/entities/moonshots-podcast","json":"/entities/moonshots-podcast.json","markdown":"/entities/moonshots-podcast.md"}]},"withdrawn":false,"revisions":[],"audits":[],"correctionUrl":"https://escapemeridian.com/corrections/"}