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Overcoming Bias – Robin Hanson's Blog

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overcomingbias.com·overcomingbias.com/

Robin Hanson's blog is a historically influential source for rationalist and AI safety communities; useful for understanding intellectual context and contrarian perspectives on AI risk, though not primarily a technical AI safety resource.

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Summary

Overcoming Bias is Robin Hanson's long-running blog exploring ideas about rationality, signaling, bias, and the future of humanity, including early influential discussions on AI risk, whole brain emulation, and existential risk. Hanson is an economist and futurist known for contrarian and often challenging takes on human cognition, social behavior, and technology. The blog has been influential in shaping early rationalist and AI safety community thinking.

Key Points

  • •Hanson pioneered discussion of 'ems' (whole brain emulations) and their societal implications, later expanded in his book 'The Age of Em'.
  • •The blog challenges conventional wisdom on bias, signaling, and motivated reasoning, with direct relevance to AI alignment epistemics.
  • •Hanson has debated AI risk timelines and severity, often taking more skeptical positions than mainstream AI safety researchers.
  • •Introduces concepts like 'near vs. far' thinking (construal level theory) and their implications for long-term planning and existential risk.
  • •Historically significant as a formative intellectual influence on the rationalist and EA communities from which much AI safety work emerged.

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Overcoming Bias | Robin Hanson | Substack 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 This is a blog on why we believe and do what we do, why we pretend otherwise, how we might do better, and what our descendants might do, if they don't all die.

 By Robin Hanson · Over 39,000 subscribers Subscribe By subscribing, you agree Substack's Terms of Use , and acknowledge its Information Collection Notice and Privacy Policy . No thanks 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 
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