Deep Utopia

Life and Meaning in a Solved World

By: Nick Bostrom

Narrated by: David Timson

*Gold Medal Winner, Living Now Book Awards 2024*

Bostrom’s previous book, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies (OUP, 2014) sparked a global conversation on AI that continues to this day. That book, which became a surprise New York Times bestseller, focused on what might happen if AI development goes wrong.

But what if things go right? Suppose we develop superintelligence safely and ethically, and that we make good use of the almost magical powers this technology would unlock. We would transition into an era in which human labor becomes obsolete—a “post-instrumental” condition in which human efforts are not needed for any practical purpose. Furthermore, human nature itself becomes fully malleable.

The challenge we confront here is not technological but philosophical and spiritual. In such a “solved world”, what is the point of human existence? What gives meaning to life? What would we do and experience?

Deep Utopia—a work that is again decades ahead of its time—takes the listener who is able to follow on a journey into the heart of some of the profoundest questions before us, questions we didn’t even know to ask. It shows us a glimpse of a different kind of existence, which might be ours in the future.

©2024 Nick Bostrom (P)2024 Nick Bostrom

Critic reviews

“This is a wondrous book. It is mind-expanding. It is poetic. It is moving. It is funny. The writing is superb. Every page is full of ideas.” —Russ Roberts, President of Shalem College

“Fascinating.” —The New York Times

“Yeah.” —Elon Musk

I highly recommend Deep Utopia

There are lots of books describing what will happen if the AI revolution turns bad but this is the first one I've heard of that discusses what will happen if things go right, how will we find meaning in our lives if machines can do everything better than we can? Bostrom suggests there may be several ways it might still be possible to have a meaningful life. Parts of the book remind me a little of Douglas Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach, and that is very high praise, although Bostrom is more interested in philosophy than science or mathematics.

Public Philosophy at Its Best

Nick Bostrom is one of the best values theorists working today. This is a brilliant, and often hilarious, exploration of possible futures on the grandest possible scales. It’s also a quirky book that expanded my imaginative horizons. Enjoy!

In incredibly entertaining presentation

Bostrom chose an entertaining way to present his thoughts on this topic - as a narrative about himself giving lectures at a fictional university, complete with interactions with students and auditors, handouts and required readings. Combined with stellar narration, I found this book supremely enjoyable, not to mention thought-provoking. Some of the passages were so good that I have to go back and listen to them again.

Would I relisten: Absolutely!

Deep doo-doo, game over.

Much as I appreciate that Nick has tried to put a rare positive spin on a future built upon artifici...ALIEN intelligence, his optimistic vision is a pipe dream, going against everything we know to be true about our species. This book is in deep trouble from chapter 1 onwards. Using an extremely silly presentation — that of him presenting his pitch for this very "utopia" to an eager audience, it stretches hard to paint a pretty picture. At the core is the premise that somehow humans will abandon their true nature and thrive in a world where all is provided, effort is obsolete, and struggle, patience, and work long lost to a quaint past. An AI-driven paradise that does everything short of wiping your butt—unless I missed that chapter. Forced exile to Disney World would be fighting for first place in hell. Deeply depressing and out of touch.

really hard to follow

super intelligence was an amazing book and I was looking forward to this one. unfortunately it was very hard to follow. almost as if he didn't want anyone to understand what he's talking about