Humanity

Working definition

EA and related communities often appeal to notions of 'human flourishing' and the 'benefit of humanity' while espousing views that are markedly anti-human. By referring to 'humanity' en masse, they smooth over the social differences (race, class, gender, ability, faith) that underlie structural challenges around the world and that reflect the long histories of how different groups of oppressed people fought to be regarded as human.

Questions to ask

• When you see invocations of 'humanity' coming up in this space, what definition of that word emerges based on the context in which it is used?
• Which humans are not mentioned? Which humans stand to be ignored or outright harmed by this use of 'humanity'?

Usages in annotated documents

• …or not you believe the timelines, the stakes are simple: whoever controls this technology controls the future of humanity. The core problem is alignment. Today’s frontier models already display emergent capabilities their creators did not… The Window Is Closing
• …us if we make the wrong one. AI safety cannot remain an afterthought funded by the labs it is meant to police. Humanity deserves a seat at the table before the window closes for good. The Window Is Closing