The starting-point for effective altruism was a simple assumption, that “suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad.” Yet adherents fear they may be hastening an ending, too, when humanity’s “cosmic endowment”—every star and galaxy that is plausibly exploitable—falls sway to an indifferent, superior intelligence.
Illustration: Olivier Heiligers
Oct 1st 2026|14 min read
