What We Owe the Future

What We Owe the Future (2022) makes the case for longtermism –⁠ the idea that people today have an obligation to create a good future for successive generations. Using philosophical reasoning, historical anecdotes, and social science research, it argues that the current moment could decide whether future people will live happy, flourishing lives or extraordinarily miserable ones. By carefully considering our actions with respect to issues like AI safety, biotechnology, and value lock-in, we increase the chances that future people will thrive –⁠ just as many of us do, now, thanks to people from the past.

• Activists and charity donors who want to maximize the good they do
• People interested in moral philosophy and ethics 
• Anyone concerned about the future of humanity

William MacAskill is a philosopher and ethicist working as an associate professor and senior research fellow at the University of Oxford. He co-founded three organizations: Giving What We Can, the Center for Effective Altruism, and 80,000 Hours, all of which aim to produce long-term social and economic impact. He is also the co-author of Moral Uncertainty, a book about decision-making, and the author of Doing Good Better, about effective altruism.