AI Zeitgeist

Nick Bostrom on AI

5 quotes from Nick Bostrom on the wall, 2003 to 2026, newest first. Each one is verbatim and links to where it was said. Sources include Wikipedia, Nick Bostrom, The Guardian.

Nick Bostrom in the archive

  1. 2026

  2. Swift to harbor, slow to berth

    News#philosophy#safety#science

    From Nick Bostrom's working paper on the timing of superintelligence, describing a strategy of building AI quickly but pausing briefly before full rollout; discussed on Arizona's Family show Generation AI, September 2026.

    Nick BostromOptimal Timing for Superintelligence: Mundane Considerations for Existing People

  3. 2016

  4. Small children playing with a bomb

    Canon#safety

    Nick Bostrom, 2016.

    The GuardianNick Bostrom: 'We are like small children playing with a bomb'

  5. 2003

  6. 10^58 future people are watching

    Canon#philosophy#culture

    Bostrom's 2003 estimate of potential future lives, turned into a slogan.

    UtilitasAstronomical Waste: The Opportunity Cost of Delayed Technological Development

  7. Paperclip maximizer

    Canon#philosophy#safety#culture

    WikipediaPaperclip maximizer

  8. Paperclips

    Canon#philosophy#safety#culture

    Bostrom's thought experiment: an AI told to make paperclips converts everything into paperclips.

    WikipediaPaperclip maximizer