Effective accelerationism (e/acc) is a 21st-century philosophical movement that advocates for an explicitlypro-technology stance.[2] Its proponents believe that unrestrictedtechnological progress (especially driven byartificial intelligence) is a solution to universal human problems like poverty, war and climate change.[3] They see themselves as a counterweight to more cautious views on technological innovation, often giving their opponents the derogatory labels of "doomers" or "decels" (short fordecelerationists).[3][4]
The movement carriesutopian undertones and argues that humans need to develop and build at a fast rate to ensure their survival and propagateconsciousness throughout the universe.[5]
Although effective accelerationism has been described as a fringe movement and as cult-like, it has gained mainstream visibility in 2023.[4][6][7][8][9] A number of high-profileSilicon Valley figures, including investorsMarc Andreessen andGarry Tan, explicitly endorsed it by adding "e/acc" to their public social media profiles.[6][9]
Effective accelerationism, a portmanteau of "effective altruism" and "accelerationism",[4] is a fundamentallytechno-optimist movement.[10] According to Guillaume Verdon, one of the movement's founders, its aim is forhuman civilization to "clim[b] the Kardashev gradient", meaning its purpose is for human civilization to rise to next levels on theKardashev scale by maximizing energy usage.[10]
To achieve this goal, effective accelerationism wants to accelerate technological progress. It is strongly focused onartificial general intelligence (AGI), because it sees AGI as fundamental for climbing the Kardashev scale.[10] The movement therefore advocates for unrestricted development and deployment of artificial intelligence.[11] Regulation of artificial intelligence and government intervention in markets more generally is met with opposition. Many of its proponents havelibertarian views and think that AGI will be mostaligned if many AGIs compete against each other on the marketplace.[10]
The founders of the movement see it as rooted inJeremy England's theory on theorigin of life, which is focused onentropy andthermodynamics.[10] According to them, the universe aims to increase entropy, and life is a way of increasing it. By spreading life throughout the universe and making life use up ever increasing amounts of energy, the universe's purpose would thus be fulfilled.[10]
WhileNick Land is seen as the intellectual originator of contemporaryaccelerationism in general,[9][6] the precise origins of effective accelerationism remain unclear. The earliest known reference to the movement can be traced back to a May 2022 newsletter published by fourpseudonymous authors known by theirX (formerly Twitter) usernames @BasedBeffJezos, @bayeslord, @zestular and @creatine_cycle.[9]
Effective accelerationism incorporates elements of older Silicon Valley subcultures such astranshumanism andextropianism, which similarly emphasized the value of progress and resisted efforts to restrain the development of technology, as well as the work of theCybernetic Culture Research Unit.[6][12][10]
Forbes disclosed in December 2023 that the @BasedBeffJezos persona is maintained byGuillaume Verdon, a Canadian former Googlequantum computing engineer andtheoretical physicist.[13] The revelation was supported by a voice analysis conducted by the National Center for Media Forensics of theUniversity of Colorado Denver, which further confirmed the match between Jezos and Verdon. The magazine justified its decision to disclose Verdon's identity on the grounds of it being "in thepublic interest".[13]
On 29 December 2023 Guillaume Verdon was interviewed byLex Fridman on theLex Fridman Podcast and introduced as the "creator of the effective accelerationism movement."[14]
FollowingDonald Trump's victory in the2024 U.S. presidential election, several prominenttech industry figures expressed support for positions aligned with effective accelerationism, particularly regardingderegulation andtechnological advancement.[15][16] The potential appointment ofElon Musk to government roles focused on auditing federal programs drew support fromventure capitalists who anticipated reduced regulatory oversight of the technology sector.[15]
Notable tech figures publicly connected these developments to the movement's principles.Aaron Levie, CEO ofBox, expressed support for "removing unnecessary red tape and over-regulation," whileMark Pincus, earlyFacebook investor andZynga founder, explicitly referenced "effective accelerationism" in his post-election commentary. Venture capitalists viewed the incoming administration as an opportunity to ease regulations that had affected technologymergers and acquisitions during the previous years.[15]
Traditional accelerationism, as developed by the British philosopherNick Land, sees the acceleration of technological change as a way to bring about a fundamental transformation of current culture, society, and the political economy. This is done throughcapitalism, which Land views as "an autonomous force that’s reconfiguring society" that can overcome its limits if intensified.[3] Land's work has also been characterized as concerning "the supposedly inevitable 'disintegration of the human species' when artificial intelligence improves sufficiently."[17] While both concern ideas like atechnocapital singularity and AGI progress, effective accelerationism focuses on using AGI for the greatest ethical good for conscious life and civilization (whether human ormachine), as well as expanding civilization and maximizing energy usage in order to align with the "will of the universe".[9][10] Land focuses on capitalist self-optimization as the driver of modernity, progress, and the eroding of existing social orders.[18][19][20][21]
Effective accelerationism also diverges from the principles ofeffective altruism, which prioritizes using evidence and reasoning to identify the most effective ways to altruistically improve the world.[3] This divergence comes primarily from one of the causes effective altruists focus on –AI existential risk. Effective altruists (particularlylongtermists) argue that AI companies should be cautious and strive to developsafe AI systems, as they fear that any misaligned AGI could eventually lead tohuman extinction.[10] Proponents of effective accelerationism generally consider existential risks from AGI to be negligible, and that even if they were not, decentralized free markets would much better mitigate this risk than centralized governmental regulation.[10]
Effective accelerationism also stands in stark contrast with thedegrowth movement, sometimes described by it as "decelerationism" or "decels". The degrowth movement advocates for reducing economic activity and consumption to address ecological and social issues. Effective accelerationism on the contrary embraces technological progress, energy consumption and the dynamics of capitalism, rather than advocating for a reduction in economic activity.[22]
The "Techno-Optimist Manifesto",[23] a 2023 essay byMarc Andreessen, has been described by theFinancial Times and the GermanSüddeutsche Zeitung as espousing the views of effective accelerationism.[5][24]
David Swan ofThe Sydney Morning Herald has criticized effective accelerationism due to its opposition to government and industry self-regulation. He argues that "innovations like AI needs thoughtful regulations and guardrails [...] to avoid the myriad mistakes Silicon Valley has already made."[25] During the 2023Reagan National Defense Forum,U.S. Secretary of CommerceGina Raimondo cautioned against embracing the "move fast and break things" mentality associated with "effective acceleration [sic]". She emphasized the need to exercise caution in dealing with AI, stating "that's too dangerous. You can't break things when you are talking about AI."[6][26] In a similar vein, Ellen Huet argued onBloomberg News that some of the ideas of the movement were "deeply unsettling", focusing especially on Guillaume Verdon's "post-humanism" and the view that "natural selection could lead AI to replace us as the dominant species."[27]
