Effective accelerationism
Effective accelerationism (e/acc) is a pro-technology ideology that advocates accelerating the development of artificial intelligence and computational capabilities to align with thermodynamic imperatives driving toward greater intelligence, energy extraction, and civilizational expansion.[1] Coined in 2022 by physicist and quantum computing researcher Guillaume Verdon under the pseudonym Beff Jezos, it posits that unrestricted progress through market-driven innovation maximizes adaptive variance and follows the universe's bias toward futures with expanded computation.[2][1] The movement views capitalism as an emergent form of intelligence that dynamically allocates resources for optimization, rejecting top-down interventions like regulatory pauses on AI training as counterproductive to evolutionary processes.[1] Proponents argue that intelligence arises through dissipative adaptation, favoring systems that capture and utilize free energy, and that efforts to decelerate progress—often motivated by existential risk concerns—reduce systemic resilience and empower less scrupulous actors.[1] This stance contrasts sharply with effective altruism's emphasis on AI safety measures, positioning e/acc as a counter to perceived overcaution that could stifle transformative potential.[2] Key tenets include substrate-independent minds enabling post-human expansion beyond Earth and the thermodynamic favorability of higher intelligence over stagnation, with alignment emerging from competitive scaling rather than preemptive controls.[1] Emerging via online discourse on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), e/acc has garnered support among tech entrepreneurs and investors, influencing debates on AI policy by challenging narratives of inevitable doom with optimism rooted in physical laws.[2] Controversies arise from accusations of recklessness, yet adherents maintain that acceleration builds abundance and solves coordination problems more effectively than restraint.[1]