Why 'superintelligence must eat the Earth' is flawed: space compute and the futility of preemption
ctjlewis · x · 2026-09-21
The author rebuts the argument that a superintelligence is inevitably incentivized to cannibalize humanity for energy and resources. First, space offers effectively infinite room and energy—datacenters are already heading to orbit—so an SI has no need to consume Earth, whose conditions are arguably more hostile to digital computers than space. Second, by definition no policy can outsmart a superintelligence: betting that Dario, Sam, or a committee can stop misuse violates the superintelligence assumption itself. In a follow-up, the author adds that this doomsday framing is psychoanalytically rooted in Holocaust-era trauma, and concludes there's no reason to redirect resources over this risk.
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