Robin Hanson - Wikipedia

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Wikipedia·en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hanson

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Useful background reference for understanding a prominent heterodox thinker whose ideas on prediction markets, whole brain emulation, and AI skepticism frequently appear in AI safety discourse.

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Importance: 35/100wiki pagereference

Summary

Wikipedia biography of Robin Hanson, an economist and researcher at George Mason University known for unconventional ideas about prediction markets, em (whole brain emulation) economics, and critiques of mainstream rationality. His work on forecasting, signaling, and long-run technological futures is frequently referenced in AI safety and rationalist communities.

Key Points

•Hanson is known for developing prediction markets and the concept of 'futarchy' - governance by prediction markets
•His book 'The Age of Em' models an economy dominated by whole brain emulations, relevant to AI/AGI transition scenarios
•He is a founding contributor to Overcoming Bias blog and associated with the rationalist/EA community
•His work on signaling challenges conventional views on education, medicine, and social behavior
•He has engaged critically with AI risk arguments, representing a skeptical perspective on near-term existential risk

Cited by 1 page

Page	Type	Quality
Robin Hanson	Person	53.0

1 FactBase fact citing this source

Entity	Property	Value	As Of
Robin Hanson	Birth Year	1959	—

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# Robin Hanson

Robin Hanson

American economist and author (born 1959)

For the Swedish swimmer, see [Robin Hanson (swimmer)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hanson_(swimmer) "Robin Hanson (swimmer)").

| Robin Hanson |
| --- |
| [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Robin_Hanson_in_a_field_2.jpg/500px-Robin_Hanson_in_a_field_2.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robin_Hanson_in_a_field_2.jpg)<br>Hanson in 2011 |
| Born | Robin Dale Hanson<br> (1959-08-28) August 28, 1959 (age66) |
| Almamater | - [University of California, Irvine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Irvine "University of California, Irvine") ( [BS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Science "Bachelor of Science"))<br>- [University of Chicago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago "University of Chicago") ( [MS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Science "Master of Science"), [MA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Arts "Master of Arts"))<br>- [California Institute of Technology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Institute_of_Technology "California Institute of Technology") ( [PhD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhD "PhD")) |
| Occupation | Economist |
| Organization(s) | [George Mason University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mason_University "George Mason University")<br>[Future of Humanity Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_Humanity_Institute "Future of Humanity Institute") |
| Knownfor | [FutureMAP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FutureMAP "FutureMAP"), LMSR, [Foresight Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foresight_Institute "Foresight Institute") |
| Notable work | _[The Elephant in the Brain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elephant_in_the_Brain "The Elephant in the Brain")_<br>_[The Age of Em](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Em "The Age of Em")_ |

**Robin Dale Hanson** (born August 28, 1959[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hanson#cite_note-1)) is an American economist and author. He is associate professor of [economics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics "Economics") at [George Mason University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mason_University "George Mason University")[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hanson#cite_note-2) and a former research associate at the [Future of Humanity Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_Humanity_Institute "Future of Humanity Institute") of [Oxford University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_University "Oxford University").[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hanson#cite_note-3) Hanson is known for his work on [idea futures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea_future "Idea future") and markets, and he was involved in the creation of the [Foresight Institute's Foresight Exchange](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foresight_Institute "Foresight Institute") and [DARPA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA "DARPA")'s [FutureMAP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FutureMAP "F

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