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William MacAskill - Wikipedia

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Wikipedia·en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_MacAskill

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Good quality. Reputable source with community review or editorial standards, but less rigorous than peer-reviewed venues.

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MacAskill is a central figure in the EA and longtermist communities that have heavily funded and shaped AI safety research priorities; understanding his background provides context for the philosophical and philanthropic ecosystem surrounding AI safety.

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Importance: 45/100wiki pagereference

Summary

Wikipedia biography of William MacAskill, a Scottish philosopher and associate professor at Oxford who co-founded the effective altruism movement and longtermism. He is known for founding organizations like 80,000 Hours and the Centre for Effective Altruism, and authored influential books including 'What We Owe the Future.' His work significantly intersects with AI safety through his advocacy for prioritizing existential risk reduction.

Key Points

  • •Co-founded the effective altruism movement and key EA organizations including 80,000 Hours and the Centre for Effective Altruism
  • •Associate Professor of Philosophy at Oxford, known for developing and popularizing longtermism
  • •Authored 'What We Owe the Future' (2022), arguing future generations' wellbeing should be a top moral priority
  • •His philosophical work on existential risk directly informs AI safety prioritization within the EA community
  • •Instrumental in directing significant philanthropic funding toward AI safety research through EA networks

Cited by 2 pages

PageTypeQuality
80,000 HoursOrganization45.0
Will MacAskillPerson60.0

2 FactBase facts citing this source

EntityPropertyValueAs Of
Will MacAskillBirth Year1987—
Will MacAskillEducationDPhil in Philosophy, St. Anne's College, Oxford (2014); BA, Cambridge; studied at Princeton—

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# William MacAskill

William MacAskill

Scottish philosopher and ethicist (born 1987)

| William MacAskill |
| --- |
| [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/William_MacAskill_Portrait_2015_%28cropped%29.jpg/500px-William_MacAskill_Portrait_2015_%28cropped%29.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:William_MacAskill_Portrait_2015_(cropped).jpg)<br>MacAskill in 2015 |
| Born | William David Crouch<br> (1987-03-24) 24 March 1987 (age38)<br>[Glasgow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow "Glasgow"), Scotland |
| Spouse | [Amanda Askell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Askell "Amanda Askell")<br>​<br>(divorced)​<br>[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_MacAskill#cite_note-bajekal-time-1) |
|  |
| Education |
| Education | - [Jesus College, Cambridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_College,_Cambridge "Jesus College, Cambridge") ( [BA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Arts "Bachelor of Arts"), 2008)<br>- [St Edmund Hall, Oxford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Edmund_Hall,_Oxford "St Edmund Hall, Oxford") ( [BPhil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BPhil "BPhil"), 2010)<br>- [St Anne's College, Oxford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Anne's_College,_Oxford "St Anne's College, Oxford") ( [DPhil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DPhil "DPhil"), 2014) |
| [Thesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thesis "Thesis") | [_Normative Uncertainty_](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5506078de4b02d88372eee4e/t/5bc723b5104c7bf5cc8f3881/1539777748456/MacAskill-Normative-Uncertainty.pdf)(2014) |
| [Doctoral advisors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctoral_advisor "Doctoral advisor") | - [Krister Bykvist](https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krister%20Bykvist "sv:Krister Bykvist")<br>- [John Broome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Broome_(philosopher) "John Broome (philosopher)") |
| Philosophical work |
| Era | [Contemporary philosophy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_philosophy "Contemporary philosophy") |
| Region | [Western philosophy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_philosophy "Western philosophy") |
| Institutions | - [Emmanuel College, Cambridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_College,_Cambridge "Emmanuel College, Cambridge")<br>- [Lincoln College, Oxford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_College,_Oxford "Lincoln College, Oxford")<br>- [Global Priorities Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Priorities_Institute "Global Priorities Institute") |
| Main interests | - Ethics<br>- [political philosophy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_philosophy "Political philosophy")<br>- [decision theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_theory "Decision theory")<br>- [philosophy and economics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_and_economics "Philosophy and economics")\[ _[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed "Wikipedia:Citation needed")_\]<br>- [utilitarianism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism "Utilitarianism") |
| Notable idea

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Resource ID: d2b04898c45ce420 | Stable ID: ZTg3MTEwMT