Will MacAskill on Pausing AI at human-genius level to sol…

Will MacAskill

Philosopher; effective altruism cofounder; researcher at Forethought Centre for AI Strategy

First let’s talk about pause at human level — that’s a phrase from Ryan Greenblatt. So that’s when we’re at the point of time of AI engaging in AI R&D, at this point of time when things perhaps go even faster, should we at that point be trying to slow things down, even pause, stop and start, and so on? And then I’m like, yes, definitely. This is both the dangerous period and the fastest period. Or at least it’s potentially both of those things at once. [...] So pausing and slowing down at that point, I’m quite keen on.

AI Verified (Apr 22, 2026)

Source:

Will MacAskill, interview on the 80,000 Hours Podcast, published April 22, 2026.

2mo ago

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Pausing AI at human-genius level to solve alignment is safer than either racing to superintelligence or halting entirely

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AI Verified Relevant: the verified source passage bears directly on "Pausing AI at human-genius level to solve alignment is safer than either racing to superintelligence or halting entirely" and signals a determinate stance. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5 · 2mo ago

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AI Verified Verified for: the authenticated, relevant source context supports this recorded position on "Pausing AI at human-genius level to solve alignment is safer than either racing to superintelligence or halting entirely". · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5 · 2mo ago

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AI Verified Verified against the cited primary source: wording and attribution match Will MacAskill. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5 · 2mo ago

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Will MacAskill votes For

Create a global institute for AI, similar to CERN

I tentatively think that an international AGI project is feasible and desirable. More confidently, I think that it is valuable to develop the best versions of such a project in more detail, in case some event triggers a sudden and large change in pol...

more AI Verified source (Jan 27, 2026)

added 4mo ago

Will MacAskill votes For

AGI could quickly lead to superintelligence

Another possibility, if there's a large enough intelligence explosion, is that the first project to build AGI organically becomes a de facto world government. This possibility is worth taking pretty seriously, given the stakes and the fact that an in...

more Disputed source (2026)

added 4mo ago