--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I could create a world where people…" description: "\"If I could create a world where people lived forever, or at the very least a few billion years, I would do so. I don't think humanity will always be st..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_always_if-i-could-create-a-world-where-people-l_812038.jpg" --- # If I could create a world where people lived forever, or… ![“If I could create a world where people lived forever, or at the very least a few billion years, I would do so. I don't think humanity will always be stuck in the awkward stage we now occupy, when we are smart enough to create enormous problems for ourselves, but not quite smart enough to solve them.” quote by Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_always_if-i-could-create-a-world-where-people-l_812038.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_always_if-i-could-create-a-world-where-people-l_812038.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_always_if-i-could-create-a-world-where-people-l_812038.jpg) > “If I could create a world where people lived forever, or at the very least a few billion years, I would do so. I don't think humanity will always be stuck in the awkward stage we now occupy, when we are smart enough to create enormous problems for ourselves, but not quite smart enough to solve them.” [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates for vastly extending human lifespan to outpace existential risks, assuming future intelligence will solve current problems. **In simple terms:** Living longer could help humanity survive and solve big problems. Key Takeaway Invest in technologies that extend healthy life. Themes longevity future risk mitigation Mood hopeful serious speculative Type philosophical visionary When to use this quote - medical research - space colonization - AI development Key Concepts transhumanism existential risk technological progress Questions to Reflect On - What ethical issues arise from extreme longevity? - How might extended life affect resource distribution? A Different Perspective Long lifespans may introduce new societal challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Awkward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awkward/) [Billion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billion/) [Billion Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billion-years/) [Could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could/) [Create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create/) [Create World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create-world/) [Enormous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Few](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/few/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Stuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-stuck-269770/) [If i could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/if-i-could/) [Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [Occupy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occupy/) [Ourselves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ourselves/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) [Quite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quite/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Solve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solve/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Stuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuck/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-humanity-269769/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [Where](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Every sort of seven billion human being have to think about the well-being of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/every-sort-of-seven-billion-human-being-have-to-think-about-the-well/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“(Sometimes I think humanity’s second-greatest need is a supervillain. Maybe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/sometimes-i-think-humanity-s-second-greatest-need-is-a-supervillain/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [The world isn't fast-paced, it's frenetic. People have to be managers of themselves. Time has been managing itself for 15 billion years; we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-buzan/the-world-isn-t-fast-paced-it-s-frenetic-people-have-to-be-managers/) [Tony Buzan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-buzan/) > [Consider: Life arose on Earth close to four billion years ago. Four billion years of slithering, swimming, and soaring life forms. But only in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/consider-life-arose-on-earth-close-to-four-billion-years-ago-four/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [If we do find ET, we will at least have something in common with them. They may live on planet Zog and have seven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/if-we-do-find-et-we-will-at-least-have-something-in-common-with-them/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [The stupendous time spans of the evolutionary past are now part of common culture (though maybe not in the United States Bible Belt, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-stupendous-time-spans-of-the-evolutionary-past-are-now-part-of/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [From an evolutionary standpoint, human consciousness has not been around very long. A little light just went on after four and a half billion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/from-an-evolutionary-standpoint-human-consciousness-has-not-been/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [The Earth has been lawned with life for something over 3.5 billion years. That's a span of time great enough to encompass some honest-to-goodness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-earth-has-been-lawned-with-life-for-something-over-3-5-billion/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [If we could magically transport ourselves back to the young Earth, when it was only a billion years old or two billion years old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/if-we-could-magically-transport-ourselves-back-to-the-young-earth/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [When we look out into space, we're looking back in time; the light from a galaxy a billion light-years away, for instance, will take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-geller/when-we-look-out-into-space-we-re-looking-back-in-time-the-light-from/) [Margaret Geller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-geller/) > [Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio signals, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alien-astronomers-could-have/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Life is extraordinarily resilient. It's been around for over a billion years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/life-is-extraordinarily-resilient-it-s-been-around-for-over-a-billion/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [It's suggested that enlightenment has some tremendous compassion, some driving necessity to help humanity. I don't think that's the case at all. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/it-s-suggested-that-enlightenment-has-some-tremendous-compassion-some/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“It can be helpful to think of humanity like a pearl necklace. Each human being is a pearl with distinct characteristics, but underneath there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gudjon-bergmann/it-can-be-helpful-to-think-of-humanity-like-a-pearl-necklace-each/) [Gudjon Bergmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gudjon-bergmann/) > [I think humanity can do more than one thing at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyan-slat/i-think-humanity-can-do-more-than-one-thing-at-the-same-time/) [Boyan Slat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyan-slat/) ## More by Eliezer Yudkowsky > [“But I really am Ravenclaw, you know, not Slytherin. I don't want to rule the universe. I just think it could be more sensibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/but-i-really-am-ravenclaw-you-know-not-slytherin-i-don-t-want-to-rule/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“‎If you regard evidence as a constraint and seek to free yourself, you sell yourself into the chains of your whims. For you cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/if-you-regard-evidence-as-a-constraint-and-seek-to-free-yourself-you/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“I am not sure how to explain it, except that - truth matters to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-am-not-sure-how-to-explain-it-except-that-truth-matters-to-us/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [I see little hope for democracy as an effective form of government, but I admire the poetry of how it makes its victims complicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-see-little-hope-for-democracy-as-an-effective-form-of-government/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“He really really really shouldn't have done that. Amazing how much more obvious that became one second after it was too late.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/he-really-really-really-shouldn-t-have-done-that-amazing-how-much/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [I'm wondering if there's a spell to make lightning flash in the background whenever I make an ominous resolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-m-wondering-if-there-s-a-spell-to-make-lightning-flash-in-the/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“There’s a technique we use in our local rationalist cluster called “Is That Your True Rejection?”, and it works like this: Before you stake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/there-s-a-technique-we-use-in-our-local-rationalist-cluster-called-is/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [Lonely dissent doesn't feel like going to school dressed in black. It feels like going to school wearing a clown suit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/lonely-dissent-doesn-t-feel-like-going-to-school-dressed-in-black-it/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“Knowing that Draco's hopeful face had probably been drilled into him by months of practice did not make it any less effective, Harry observed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/knowing-that-draco-s-hopeful-face-had-probably-been-drilled-into-him/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [The strength of a theory is not what it allows, but what it prohibits; if you can invent an equally persuasive explanation for any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/the-strength-of-a-theory-is-not-what-it-allows-but-what-it-prohibits/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [It is triple ultra forbidden to respond to criticism with violence. There are a very few injunctions in the human art of rationality that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/it-is-triple-ultra-forbidden-to-respond-to-criticism-with-violence/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [The human species was not born into a market economy. Bees won't sell you honey if you offer them an electronic funds transfer. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/the-human-species-was-not-born-into-a-market-economy-bees-won-t-sell/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“Frigideiro! " said Hermione again from the desk next to him. Her water was solid ice and there were white crystals forming on the rim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/frigideiro-said-hermione-again-from-the-desk-next-to-him-her-water/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“And then Harry Potter had launched in to a speech that was inspiring, yet vague. A speech to the effect that Fred and George…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/and-then-harry-potter-had-launched-in-to-a-speech-that-was-inspiring/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“And I know that I'd just make myself unhappy by comparing that reality to... something perfect that I built up in my imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/and-i-know-that-i-d-just-make-myself-unhappy-by-comparing-that/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) [Explore all 274 Eliezer Yudkowsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) [Browse all 36,048 Always quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I could create a world where people lived forever, or at the very least a few billion years, I would do so. 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