Philosophy:AI successionism
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AI successionism is a view that humanity should hand the world over to AI even if this results in human extinction.[1]
A seminar abstract characterized advocates of “AI successionism” as holding that the replacement of the human species by AI would be good.[2]
Wired reported an idea that the “moral aim” of AI should be that one would prefer it, rather than humanity, to determine the future of life.[3]
According to The Wall Street Journal, for the Cheerful Apocalyptics, that AI could destroy humanity wouldn’t be bad.[4]
In an article for Vox, Sigal Samuel described computer scientist Richard Sutton as an "AI successionist".[5] Daniel Faggella used a “flame” metaphor, hypothesizing that the flame represents consciousness and autopoiesis, and AGI would carry the flame.[6]
Émile P. Torres argued that many Silicon Valley leaders embrace a future in which humans will be replaced by digital beings.[7]
History
In 2026, Samuel reported that AI successionism had been gaining ground for a decade.[8]
Criticism
Tyler Austin Harper argues that defending humanity against its "digital doppelgänger" requires a conception of humanity.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ Samuel, Sigal (28 May 2026). "The people who actually want AI to replace humanity". https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/489976/ai-successionism-transhumanism-posthumanism. "Instead, we should usher in artificial intelligence as a successor to humanity and hand over the world to it. Even if that means we go extinct."
- ↑ "Olle Häggström, Chalmers, Göteborg". https://www.su.se/enheter/statistiska-institutionen/kalender/kalenderartiklar/2025-12-09-olle-haggstrom-chalmers-goteborg. "advocates of so-called AI successionism, holding that the human species being replaced by advanced AI would actually be a good thing."
- ↑ Robison, Kylie (2025-06-11). "Inside the AI Party at the End of the World" (in en-US). Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/story/ai-risk-party-san-francisco/. Retrieved 2026-07-25. "The “moral aim” of advanced AI should be to create a form of intelligence so powerful and wise that “you would gladly prefer that it (not humanity) determine the future path of life itself.”".
- ↑ Price, David A. (2025-10-03). "AI Doom? No Problem." (in en-US). https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-apocalypse-no-problem-6b691772. "Governments and experts are worried that a superintelligent AI could destroy humanity. For the ‘Cheerful Apocalyptics’ in Silicon Valley, that wouldn’t be a bad thing."
- ↑ Samuel, Sigal (28 May 2026). "The people who actually want AI to replace humanity". https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/489976/ai-successionism-transhumanism-posthumanism. "Likewise, the computer scientist and AI successionist Richard Sutton argues that if you look at things from the “point of view of the universe” — a classic utilitarian slogan — there’s a clear upward trajectory."
- ↑ Strickland, Eliza (2025-06-24). "Can AI Be a “Worthy Successor” to Humanity?" (in en). https://spectrum.ieee.org/agi-worthy-successor. "My hypothesis is that the flame is consciousness and autopoiesis, or self-creation. If AGI [artificial general intelligence] has those two things, it would carry the flame into the future."
- ↑ Torres, Émile P. (2025-11-15). "Tech Capitalists Don't Care About Humans. Literally". Jacobin (Interview). Interviewed by Doug Henwood. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
As moral philosopher Émile Torres argues, many Silicon Valley leaders embrace a vision of a transhumanist future in which biological humans will be replaced by digital beings endowed with superintelligence.
- ↑ Samuel, Sigal (28 May 2026). "The people who actually want AI to replace humanity". https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/489976/ai-successionism-transhumanism-posthumanism. "AI successionism has been gaining ground among technologists over the past decade."
- ↑ Harper, Tyler Austin (2026-06-02). "There Is Already a Word for the Deep Moral Failures of AI" (in en). https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/06/pope-leo-ai-christian/687388/. "Defending humanity against its digital doppelgänger requires having a positive conception of what humanity is in the first place."
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