A field guide to AI positions

LessWrong

Dated sources are over 18 months old; other dates are unknown.

Publication dates and source age

Sources counted: 3

Newest dated source: 2019-06-01

Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

Some publication dates are unknown; the newest dated source may not be the newest source overall.

Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

Open in the glossary Reading notes · Structured record

In plain language

An online forum about reasoning, science and AI, with many authors rather than one shared position. [1] [2]

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Limits & distinctions

LessWrong, the rationalist community and effective altruism overlap intellectually, but a forum is not a shared creed or an EA organization. [2] [3]

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A fuller explanation

An online forum for discussing reasoning, cognitive biases, science and AI. It grew out of Overcoming Bias and launched as a separate community blog in 2009. [1]

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How it relates to the map

A venue for debate, not one position on AI pace or risk. Read the author and argument behind each post. [2]

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Share this page

https://theaiatlas.org/ideas/lesswrong/

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Sources and what we read

  1. 1. A Brief History of LessWrong

    Source is over 18 months old.

    Publication dates and source age

    Sources counted: 1

    Newest dated source: 2019-06-01

    Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

    Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

    Read the site's own retrospective: Overcoming Bias in 2006, LessWrong in 2009, and the Sequences. An internal community account, not an independent history.

  2. 2. Welcome to LessWrong!

    Publication dates and source age

    Sources counted: 1

    Publication dates are unavailable.

    Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

    Some publication dates are unknown; the newest dated source may not be the newest source overall.

    Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

    Read the site's introduction and intended reasoning practice. Self-description does not certify participants' accuracy or common beliefs.

  3. 3. What is effective altruism?

    Publication dates and source age

    Sources counted: 1

    Publication dates are unavailable.

    Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

    Some publication dates are unknown; the newest dated source may not be the newest source overall.

    Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

    Definition of a philosophy/community, not a placement on the AI chart.

Edition and machine-readable evidence

Content version 0.20.0. Evidence cutoff 2026-09-15; this does not mean every source was read on that day.

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