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Nick Bostrom
Oxford philosopher whose 2014 book Superintelligence framed AI as an existential risk, who now argues from the Macrostrategy Research Initiative that never building superintelligence would itself be a catastrophe.
Roles
- 2000 – 2002Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Yale UniversitySource →
- 2005 – Apr 2024Founding Director, Future of Humanity Institute, University of OxfordThe institute was closed by the university on 16 April 2024.Source →
- 2008 – 2024Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of OxfordSource →
- 2024 – presentFounder and Principal Researcher, Macrostrategy Research InitiativeSource →
On the record
2026 · Paper · nickbostrom.com (working paper)
Developing superintelligence is not like playing Russian roulette; it is more like undergoing risky surgery for a condition that will otherwise prove fatal.
Founder and Principal Researcher, Macrostrategy Research Initiative at the time
Working paper v1.0, circulating by February 2026; argues for "swift to harbor, slow to berth" and warns that poorly implemented pauses could do more harm than good.
Optimal Timing for Superintelligence: Mundane Considerations for Existing People →
25 Mar 2025 · Interview · Science, Technology & the Future (Adam Ford)
Developing superintelligence is associated with significant existential risks. … It would be in itself an existential catastrophe if we forever failed to develop superintelligence.
Founder and Principal Researcher, Macrostrategy Research Initiative at the time
Transcribed interview; captures his post-FHI position that risk cuts both ways.
Nick Bostrom: Failure to Develop Superintelligence Would Be a Catastrophe →
27 Dec 2024 · Interview · American Enterprise Institute
both extremely good and extremely bad outcomes are possible, and we are a bit in the dark.
Founder and Principal Researcher, Macrostrategy Research Initiative at the time
On the publication of Deep Utopia; he added that an intelligence explosion "next year" cannot be ruled out.
Life in an AI Utopia: A Quick Q&A With Futurist and Philosopher Nick Bostrom →
2014 · Book · Oxford University Press
Superintelligence is a challenge for which we are not ready now and will not be ready for a long time
Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford at the time
Quoted verbatim in Reason's September 2014 review of the book; he also calls it "the most important and most daunting challenge humanity has ever faced".