The Trajectory

This installment of the Worthy Successor series is a conversation with Brian Thomas Swimme, a cosmologist and philosopher of science, and a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco.Brian’s work begins from a destabilizing claim: that humanity is not the center of value, but an expression of a much larger creative process. Rather than asking how humans can remain permanently relevant, he asks how we might participate wisely in a universe defined by continual becoming.The interview is our nineteenth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity.This episode referred to the following other essays and resources:-- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy-- The third story of the universe: https://www.organism.earth/library/document/third-story-of-the-universeListen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/b9KHo4wO61wSee the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/swimme1...There are three main questions we cover here on the Trajectory:1. Who are the power players in AGI and what are their incentives?2. What kind of posthuman future are we moving towards, or should we be moving towards?3. What should we do about it?If this sounds like it's up your alley, then be sure to stick around and connect:-- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory-- X: x.com/danfaggella-- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danfaggella-- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw-- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@trajectoryai

This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with David Sloan Wilson, an American evolutionary biologist, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences and Anthropology at Binghamton University, and co-founder of the Evolution Institute and ProSocial World. In this conversation, we explore what it would mean for humanity to act as a steward of evolution itself - not freezing life in its current form, but guiding its transformation toward futures that remain coherent, prosocial, and resilient over deep time. The interview is our eighteenth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity.This episode referred to the following other essays and resources:-- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy– ProSocial’s Eight Core Design Principles: https://www.prosocial.world/resources/resource-posts/short-core-design-principle-handoutListen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PeqlP8-ZNDQ See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/wilson1...About The Trajectory:AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life?From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to postively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy.Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls: https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircleStay in touch: -- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw -- X: x.com/danfaggella -- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory -- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with Michael Johnson, a philosopher and neuroscientist who describes himself as working on "how to turn consciousness into a real science." Mike is known for his formalist approach to consciousness research and his work on the Symmetry Theory of Valence at the Qualia Research Institute.In this episode, we explore Mike's radical vision of what posthuman sentience could become - and why he believes human experience represents just one tiny corner of a vast, largely unexplored space of possible minds.The interview is our seventeenth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity.This episode referred to the following other essays and resources:-- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy/-- Qualia Formalism and a Symmetry Theory of Valence: https://opentheory.net/Qualia_Formalism_and_a_Symmetry_Theory_of_Valence.pdf?utmListen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5Kh95ylhcHo See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/johnson1...There are three main questions we cover here on the Trajectory:1. Who are the power players in AGI and what are their incentives?2. What kind of posthuman future are we moving towards, or should we be moving towards?3. What should we do about it?If this sounds like it's up your alley, then be sure to stick around and connect:-- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory-- X: x.com/danfaggella-- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danfaggella-- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw-- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@trajectoryai

This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with Robin Hanson - Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University, economist, polymath, and author of The Age of Em. Hanson is one of the few thinkers who approaches the future of intelligence through the lens of deep evolutionary dynamics, cultural drift, and long-term civilizational viability.In this episode, we dig into Robin’s stark warning that humanity is losing the adaptive capacities that once made civilizations robust - and that without radical course correction, our current world order is likely to collapse and be replaced by a more adaptive successor.The interview is our sixteenth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity.This episode referred to the following other essays and resources:-- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy/-- Explain the Sacred (By Robin Hanson): https://www.overcomingbias.com/p/explain-the-sacredhtmlListen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Rk3VvLSHCbASee the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/hanson1...There are three main questions we cover here on the Trajectory:1. Who are the power players in AGI and what are their incentives?2. What kind of posthuman future are we moving towards, or should we be moving towards?3. What should we do about it?If this sounds like it's up your alley, then be sure to stick around and connect:-- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory-- X: x.com/danfaggella-- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danfaggella-- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw-- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@trajectoryai

This new installment of the Worthy Successor series is an interview with Joe Carlsmith, a senior advisor at Open Philanthropy, whose work spans AI alignment, moral uncertainty, and the philosophical foundations of value. In this conversation, Joe joins us in his personal capacity, not representing any brand or company, and offering his own thoughtful perspectives.In this episode, we explore Joe’s reflections on what a “worthy successor” might really mean - not as a single entity, but as a civilization guided toward greater wisdom. His framing is rare among alignment thinkers: he treats AI not as a replacement for humanity, but as a set of tools that might help us become clearer thinkers, better philosophers, and truer to what is actually good.The interview is our fifteenth installment in The Trajectory’s second series, Worthy Successor, where we explore the kinds of posthuman intelligences that deserve to steer the future beyond humanity.This episode referred to the following other essays:-- A Worthy Successor - The Purpose of AGI: https://danfaggella.com/worthy/-- Our Final Imperatives - Humanity's Last Goals at the Dawn of AI: https://danfaggella.com/imperativesListen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bsTwkg6eYCs See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/carlmsith1...There are three main questions we cover here on the Trajectory:1. Who are the power players in AGI and what are their incentives?2. What kind of posthuman future are we moving towards, or should we be moving towards?3. What should we do about it?If this sounds like it's up your alley, then be sure to stick around and connect:-- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory-- X: x.com/danfaggella-- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danfaggella-- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw-- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@trajectoryai