NB: Title changed from the likely overly provocative "Oxford shuts down institute run by Elon Musk-backed philosopher", and is wordsmithed from the article text "The Future of Humanity Institute, dedicated to long-termism and effective altruism, closed this week", per HN guidelines on clarity, linkbait, and length:
I'm kinda conflicted and confused by this, as I think a lot of people
are. The value of long-term thinking seems laudable and vital right
now. But the only exposure I aver had to this crowd was people
talking about escaping the heat death of the universe - which frankly
all seemed a little unhinged given more pressing slightly less "long
term" matters. Also what seemed on the face of it to be a Humanist
creed seemed to have "transhumanist" or even anti-humanist elements.
Or did I misread that? I know some of these folks hang out here, and
I'd rather get a different take on it than from The Guardian. So what
went wrong?
Also just reading the headline "The Future of Humanity Institute
closed this week" kinda has overtones of really dark humour... like
"We won't be needing that any more!"
