In researching Peter Thiel’s technological eschatology for yesterday, I came across a whole complex of ideologies that are rampant in the tech world. They go by the acronym TESCREAL.
Paolo Benanti, whom we blogged about yesterday, introduces the concept:
The ideology permeating this group—and Silicon Valley more broadly—has gradually evolved toward forms of post-humanism, particularly through currents within the TESCREAL movement (Transhumanism, Extropianism, Singularitarianism, Cosmism, Rationalism, Effective Altruism, and Long-termism ).
I will now dig around to briefly describe each tenet of TESCREAL:
(1) T is for Transhumanism. The view that human beings are evolving or must evolve into a higher “post-human” being, usually with help of or merging with technology. This includes attempts to attain immortality by curing death, freezing oneself, or downloading one’s mind.
(2) E is for Extropianism. The term, coming from the opposite of “entropy,” the principle in physics that systems degenerate, seeks constant improvement and progress, with the goal of eventually eliminating death.
(3) S is for Singularitarianism. The belief that computer power and artificial intelligence will advance to the point of creating a technological super-intelligence, which can be guided to benefit humanity.
(4) C is for Cosmism. A Russian philosophy that seeks to use scientific means to achieve religious goals. Influenced by both science fiction and Eastern Orthodoxy. An early advocate says that Cosmism seeks “to regulate the forces of nature, to defeat death and bring ancestors back to life so that they too would participate in the general resurrection.”
(5) R is for Rationalism. This refers not to the philosophical position but to a specific internet community. According to its Wikipedia article, “Rationalists define rationality to include epistemic rationality (coming to true beliefs about the world) and instrumental rationality (acting in a way to achieve one’s objectives).” Also, “According to Ellen Huet, the rationalist community “aim[s] to keep their thinking unbiased, even when the conclusions are scary.”
(6) E and A are for Effective Altruism. According to the Wikipedia entry, “a 21st-century philosophical and social movement that advocates impartially calculating benefits and prioritizing causes to provide the greatest good. It is motivated by ‘using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible, and taking action on that basis.'”
What this means in practice, as I blogged about here, is “directing charitable giving to what will provide for the greatest good for the greatest number.” This usually involves directing philanthropy to the distant future, as opposed to immediate needs in the present, as in trying to prevent human extinction, controlling the population, guarding against asteroid collisions, etc. The disgraced and convicted crypto-currency con-man Sam Bankman-Fried was a prominent advocate of Effective Altruism, which has discredited the movement.
(7) L is for Long-termism. According to Wikipedia, this is “the ethical view that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority.” The article quotes a theorist: “Future people matter morally just as much as people alive today; … there may well be more people alive in the future than there are in the present or have been in the past; and … we can positively affect future peoples’ lives.” See my blog post about this.
Long-termists project a utopian future: anything today that would interfere with that is bad; anything that can help bring it about is good. They are concerned with “existential threats”–that is, potential threats to human existence–such as climate apocalypse, pandemics, and social collapse. To quote myself, “longtermists also seek to shape the ‘trajectory’ of the future. That is, to assure not only the existence of future beings but to assure the quality of their lives, so as to attain the “eutopia” of maximum good. This can be achieved by changing and influencing social values and directing them to these futurist ends.”
You can see how these different philosophies overlap with each other. TESCREAL has been described as a “bundle,” as in the way we might “bundle” streaming services.
TESCREAL involves not only eschatology but soteriology. Notice how it assumes human beings can save themselves. That is, smart human beings expert in technology can save not only themselves, but the world, not just now but in the future. They take the place of God. Technology takes the place of God’s creation.
Illustration: Emile Main via H+pedia, CC by 4.0
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