--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: World domination is such an ugly phrase…" description: "\"World domination is such an ugly phrase. I prefer to call it world optimisation.\" — Eliezer Yudkowsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_domination_world-domination-is-such-an-ugly-phrase_2390100.png" --- # World domination is such an ugly phrase. I prefer to call… ![“World domination is such an ugly phrase. I prefer to call it world optimisation.” quote by Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_domination_world-domination-is-such-an-ugly-phrase_2390100.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_domination_world-domination-is-such-an-ugly-phrase_2390100.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/eliezer-yudkowsky-1207_domination_world-domination-is-such-an-ugly-phrase_2390100.png) > “World domination is such an ugly phrase. I prefer to call it world optimisation.” [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. Reframing global influence as optimization rather than domination **In simple terms:** Seek beneficial global coordination over control Key Takeaway Promote cooperative global development Themes ethics technology global governance Mood critical analytical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - international policy drafting - AI research collaborations Key Concepts AI alignment collective intelligence risk mitigation Questions to Reflect On - What does “optimization” truly entail? - Who defines the optimal outcomes? A Different Perspective Optimizing may still impose hidden hierarchies ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Domination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domination/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World domination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-domination/) ## Related quotes > [Some people prefer a world where we're all equally talented in everything. Whether you prefer that world or not, I don't think that world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/some-people-prefer-a-world-where-we-re-all-equally-talented-in/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“I’d prefer a world with no identity politics. I’d prefer we judged people according to reason, logic and evidence instead of barmy left-wing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/i-d-prefer-a-world-with-no-identity-politics-i-d-prefer-we-judged/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [We prefer world law in the age of self-determination to world war in the age of mass extermination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-prefer-world-law-in-the-age-of-self-determination-to-world-war-in/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“I prefer for 'my world' to have the highest certification of being a faithful representation of the exterior world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jes-s-zamora-bonilla/i-prefer-for-my-world-to-have-the-highest-certification-of-being-a/) Jesús Zamora-Bonilla > [I dread the inevitable acceleration of American world domination which will be the result of it all...Europe will no longer be Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/i-dread-the-inevitable-acceleration-of-american-world-domination/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The C.E.O. of Google doesn't look like a Dick Cheney World Domination sort whom we should worry about as Google ogles our houses, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/the-c-e-o-of-google-doesn-t-look-like-a-dick-cheney-world-domination/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [I can't speak to being a force for change, but I take it and wear it proudly. I'll never deny it or be one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/measha-brueggergosman/i-can-t-speak-to-being-a-force-for-change-but-i-take-it-and-wear-it/) [Measha Brueggergosman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/measha-brueggergosman/) > [I am particularly interested in the indications that the people seem to understand and approve the necessity of pursuing the course that will prevent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-am-particularly-interested-in-the-indications-that-the-people-seem/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“If there's one rule in planning for world domination, it's to make sure you look good doing so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-drayden/if-there-s-one-rule-in-planning-for-world-domination-it-s-to-make/) Nicky Drayden > [The struggle for world domination is between me and the Jews. All else is meaningless. The Jews have inflicted two wounds on the world:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-struggle-for-world-domination-is-between-me-and-the-jews-all-else/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Of course the barbarians' aim of world domination has not escaped the attention of the Europeans, perhaps because unlike us they are closer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/of-course-the-barbarians-aim-of-world-domination-has-not-escaped-the/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [The craziest of all political systems, the unique leader state, has found its deserved end. History will note for eternity that the German people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-kellner/the-craziest-of-all-political-systems-the-unique-leader-state-has/) [Friedrich Kellner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-kellner/) > [“World domination by 2020!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-a-garcia/world-domination-by-2020/) S.A. Garcia > [I refer to the misunderstanding of Soviet Russia as an aggressive power, militaristically and ideologically bent upon world domination 'seeing', to quote a recent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/i-refer-to-the-misunderstanding-of-soviet-russia-as-an-aggressive/) [Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/) > [“World domination is just my side gig.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanjlisa-marie/world-domination-is-just-my-side-gig/) Tanjlisa Marie ## 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 Domination quotes > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This Dark Ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-dark-ages-still-reign-over-all-humanity-and-the-depth-and/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [Whoever says State necessarily says domination, and, consequently, slavery; a State without slavery, open or concealed, is inconceivable: that is why we are enemies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/whoever-says-state-necessarily-says-domination-and-consequently/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“World domination is just my side gig.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanjlisa-marie/world-domination-is-just-my-side-gig/) Tanjlisa Marie > [Suppose Vietnam could separate itself from the American dominated global system and carry out a successful social and economic development. Then that is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/suppose-vietnam-could-separate-itself-from-the-american-dominated/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Southerners, whose ancestors a hundred years ago knew the horrors of a homeland devastated by war, are particularly determined that war shall never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/southerners-whose-ancestors-a-hundred-years-ago-knew-the-horrors-of-a/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I refer to the misunderstanding of Soviet Russia as an aggressive power, militaristically and ideologically bent upon world domination 'seeing', to quote a recent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/i-refer-to-the-misunderstanding-of-soviet-russia-as-an-aggressive/) [Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/) > [“As she observed, “the first essential step on the road to total domination is to kill the juridical person in man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/as-she-observed-the-first-essential-step-on-the-road-to-total/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [The day came. The wrath descended. Sin, guilt, and retribution? The manic psychoses of those entities we referred to as states, institutions, systems -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-day-came-the-wrath-descended-sin-guilt-and-retribution-the-manic/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“…the excitement of doing something for the first time had passed. I laid there in the back seat looking at the moon. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hinton/the-excitement-of-doing-something-for-the-first-time-had-passed-i/) Karen Hinton > [“People are always busy in trying to manipulate and dominate others!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-aziz/people-are-always-busy-in-trying-to-manipulate-and-dominate-others/) [Salman Aziz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-aziz/) > [“World domination by 2020!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-a-garcia/world-domination-by-2020/) S.A. Garcia > [The New World Order is a more palatable name for the Anglo American world empire. It's the planetary domination of London, New York, Washington…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-jones/the-new-world-order-is-a-more-palatable-name-for-the-anglo-american/) [Alex Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-jones/) > [“Manipulation. Domination. Control. These are the three watchwords of violent serial offenders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-douglas/manipulation-domination-control-these-are-the-three-watchwords-of/) [John E. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-douglas/) > [The 1898 annexation of the Hawaiian Islands merely formally recognized what had long been American domination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/the-1898-annexation-of-the-hawaiian-islands-merely-formally/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Each time we arrive at a new level in extricating ourselves from economic, social, spiritual domination, we have a moment when we dance in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-belafonte/each-time-we-arrive-at-a-new-level-in-extricating-ourselves-from/) [Harry Belafonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-belafonte/) [Browse all 506 Domination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "World domination is such an ugly phrase. 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