Contra AI 2040 on Permanent Inequality

A LessWrong post published today offers a sharp critique of AI 2040: Plan A, specifically its vision of the post-AGI future. The issue centers on cosmic inequality. The plan's epilogue suggests that today's wealth disparities could calcify into permanent property rights over cosmic resources. The analyst argues this is unacceptable, even if everyone is materially rich by current standards—because controlling more resources translates into years of extended lifespan. It's not about luxury goods; it's about lifespans. The plan treats this inequality as inevitable, but the critique contends it's a policy choice. An alternative: make resource shares inalienable, so everyone gets an allocation but can't trade it away. There's another concern: if people expect the future to be frozen according to current wealth rankings, they'll spend the critical years before AGI scrambling for advantage rather than cooperating on safety. That's precisely the wrong incentive structure heading into artificial general intelligence.

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