Anders Sandberg Rereads Haldane's Daedalus: A Century-Old Futurism Still Speaks to Today

On November 7, AI researcher Anders Sandberg shared a series of posts with notes from rereading J.B.S. Haldane's 1923 futurist classic Daedalus, or Science & the Future. He argues that this nearly century-old work's predictions on biotechnology, energy constraints, and related issues still feel remarkably modern, and it remains worth reading for anyone discussing AI and technological change today.

Confirmed points

• Haldane was among the first authors to systematically predict a biotechnological future; genetic engineering was not yet conceivable at the time, so he spoke of selective breeding, even humorously imagining a campaign slogan 300 years hence: "Vote for Macpherson...". Sandberg considers Haldane's timescales the most arbitrary part of his argument, though the relative speed of technological change does shape how society functions.
• Haldane's core argument: even crude biological insights have had enormous social impact, so the shock of future biotechnology will be far greater. Sandberg notes this was a contrarian bet against Haldane's own skepticism about "big things" in atomic physics.
• Haldane observed that the public's first reaction to biological change tends to be disgust and cries of "unnatural"; the book famously quips that if every physico-chemical invention is blasphemy, then every biological invention is indecency. Sandberg praises this sharp observation of public reaction.
• On energy and physical limits, Haldane expected technology to approach physical limits such as the speed of light, and identified energy and stability as the remaining key constraints; he expanded on energy constraints in The Last Judgment and was skeptical of atomic power. Sandberg finds Haldane's stability argument influenced by Marxism, but his supply-chain and systemic-risk perspective heterodox and interesting.
• The title's metaphor: Haldane named the book after Daedalus because, in Sandberg's reading, he was an inventor both in the physical-science and biological sense—"the first to demonstrate that a scientific worker is not concerned with gods".
• Intellectual lineage: Haldane's visions of a biological future directly influenced Aldous Huxley, who responded critically with Brave New World; C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man was likewise a rejoinder to Haldane-style assertions, with Lewis, a moral realist, fearing the future would "lock" humanity into a low moral state. Haldane also crossed swords with GK Chesterton over whether public protest could halt scientific progress, mocking Chesterton's prediction that the horse-drawn carriage would thrive for a century—only to end up in a museum within six years.
• Methodology and stance: Daedalus emulates HG Wells's Anticipations, attempting "prophecies" that are as well-grounded as possible; in the preface Haldane admits that his "unpleasant" emphasis on certain topics was necessary—provoking people to think is, he says, the whole duty of a university teacher. He also criticized how few poets and painters of his day understood industrial life, arguing poets should be trained in science and economics.

Why it matters

• Sandberg's takeaway: when scientific progress changes the material basis of society and its social relations, beliefs and institutions are shaken—Haldane wrote that "no beliefs, values, or institutions are safe". Sandberg notes that at the time, only Marxists dared say this so plainly.
• For today, the lesson—drawn from Sandberg's response to Lewis's fears—is that technology's influence on social beliefs is not deterministic: ideas beget beliefs, beliefs beget technology, and feedback loops back in, leaving much room to maneuver; but an open society does not guarantee a happy ending—it demands eternal vigilance and continuous exploration.

2026-11-07 ~ 2026-11-07 · 15 related posts

• [source] Anders Sandberg re-reads Haldane's 1923 'Daedalus': biotech prophecy that still sounds modern — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• 'Daedalus' preface: a university teacher's whole business is to induce thinking — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• Haldane vs Chesterton: can public protest stop scientific progress? — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• Haldane's 'Daedalus': an early attempt at grounded technological prophecy — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• Haldane expected tech to near physical limits, leaving energy and stability as constraints — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• Haldane on energy and stability constraints, via a heterodox Marxist lens — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• Sandberg on Haldane: artists' poor science education, a Two Cultures lament — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• [source] Haldane on disgust: every physical invention is blasphemy, every biological one a perversion — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• Why "Daedalus"? Sandberg unpacks Haldane's deicidal metaphor for the scientific worker — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• Haldane's reversal: skeptical of atomic physics, yet bet big on biology's societal impact — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• Haldane's bio-future scenario directly influenced Huxley's Brave New World — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• Haldane's 1920s futurism: selective breeding to change character, 300 years before votes for prehensile tails — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• [source] Sandberg on Haldane's Daedalus: science changes material base, so no beliefs or institutions are safe — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• Sandberg reads C.S. Lewis's Abolition of Man: fear of locking in an arbitrary low-moral state — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07
• Sandberg: Haldane's determinism isn't inevitable — openness requires eternal vigilance — anderssandberg · 2026-11-07