Definite Optimist

Missions to Build The Future

If you want to build the future, focus on the highest-leverage work you can do to get us to the future that's best for humanity. These are the missions that matter most, and what each one needs built.

The lens

What “best for humanity” means

Four ways to make things better.

  • Raise the floor Lift the worst-off: end poverty, disease, and hunger.
  • Raise the ceiling Expand what's possible: energy, intelligence, space, science.
  • Secure survival Keep civilization safe so the future can happen at all: alignment, biosecurity, coordination.
  • Inspire Create meaning and beauty, and make people believe the future is worth building: art, culture, stories.
Upstream of everything

The master levers

Solve these and most other missions get far easier. They sit upstream of nearly everything else on this page.

Lever 01

Abundant clean energy

Cheap, clean energy makes water, food, compute, materials, and industry easy. The master physical resource.

Build: fusion, next-gen fission, ultra-cheap solar and storage, and the grid to deploy it.

Lever 02

Safe transformative AI

Intelligence on tap amplifies every other mission. The highest-leverage work of our lifetime.

Build: alignment, interpretability, evaluation, security, and governance of powerful systems.

Lever 03

Form better minds

We are shaped by what we observe and learn. More capable, curious, and wise people are upstream of progress on every other mission.

Build: personalized AI tutoring, access for everyone, and environments that teach people to think well.

Lever 04

Reprogram biology

Read and write the code of life. Upstream of curing disease, ending aging, and feeding everyone.

Build: genomics, synthetic biology, AI for biology, gene and cell programming, and delivery.

The map

Physical flourishing

Each mission: the future it creates, and what must be built to get there.

Free humanity from physical labour
The future it creates
Dangerous, tedious, backbreaking work done by machines; material abundance.
What must be built
General embodied intelligence, cheap reliable robots, simulation and data.
Food & water abundance
The future it creates
Nutrition and clean water for everyone on Earth.
What must be built
Cellular agriculture, precision fermentation, desalination, distribution.
Housing & great citiescost plus
The future it creates
Affordable shelter and well-designed cities for everyone.
What must be built
Industrialized and robotic building, permitting reform, better materials — and changing how we pay builders: fixed-price contracts that reward lower cost and faster delivery, not cost-plus deals that reward overruns.
Faster, cheaper transportationcost plus
The future it creates
Move people and goods anywhere, fast and cheap — pushing the limits of physics.
What must be built
Autonomy, electrification, high-speed rail, next-gen and supersonic flight — and contractor incentives that reward delivery and cost, not cost-plus deals where spending more pays more.
Heal the biosphere
The future it creates
A stable, thriving planet.
What must be built
Cheap clean energy, carbon removal, new materials, ecosystem restoration.
The map

Biological flourishing

Cure disease & extend healthspan
The future it creates
Disease becomes solvable; more healthy years for everyone.
What must be built
AI for biology, aging science, drug delivery, faster trials.
Mental health & meaning
The future it creates
Humans flourishing psychologically, not just materially.
What must be built
Understanding the brain and mind, scalable care, technology designed for meaning.
The map

Knowledge & human potential

Unlock every human's potential
The future it creates
Anyone, anywhere can learn anything and contribute at their full potential.
What must be built
Personalized AI learning, access, and real opportunity for everyone.
Understand consciousness
The future it creates
What minds and experience really are — the basis for meaning, mental health, and knowing what we owe other minds.
What must be built
Neuroscience, theories of mind, and tools to measure and map subjective experience.
Understand reality
The future it creates
Deeper laws of nature, and the new capabilities they unlock.
What must be built
Fundamental science, increasingly AI-accelerated.
The map

Culture & inspiration

Material progress isn't the whole point — it's in service of a life worth living. Great work expands what we care about and makes people believe the future is worth building.

Great art & storytelling
The future it creates
Work that moves people, expands empathy, and shows a future worth building.
What must be built
Film, music, writing, games, and the new mediums that reach people.
Beauty in everyday life
The future it creates
Food, design, and places that bring joy, not just utility.
What must be built
Craft, cuisine, architecture, and design held to a higher bar.
Inspire people to build
The future it creates
A culture where people believe a better future is possible and want to make it.
What must be built
Stories, role models, and ideas that spark ambition and optimism.
The map

Survival & frontier

Become multiplanetary
The future it creates
A new frontier and resource base beyond Earth.
What must be built
Cheap launch, life support, in-space industry, propulsion.
Defend against catastrophe
The future it creates
A civilization robust to pandemics, misuse, and accidents.
What must be built
Biosecurity, defensive technology, monitoring, governance.
Better coordination & institutions
The future it creates
Societies that cooperate on hard problems and stay well-informed.
What must be built
Mechanism design, trust infrastructure, technology that informs people.
The map

Raise the floor

End extreme poverty & disease
The future it creates
Lifesaving tools reach everyone, not just the rich.
What must be built
Delivery and distribution of what grows economies (energy, infrastructure) and keeps people healthy (hospitals, medicines, vaccines, clean water and sanitation).
Economic opportunity for all
The future it creates
A path out of poverty for everyone: work, income, and inclusion.
What must be built
Growth in poor countries, financial inclusion, connectivity, and jobs.
Decide

How to choose one

Score each mission

  • Importance The scale of impact if it's solved.
  • Neglectedness How under-resourced it is relative to its importance.
  • Personal fire Does it light a fire in you to dedicate a good chunk of your life to it?
  • Your leverage Where you can add the most given your skills, network, and path.
Act

See what's best for you

Open your AI of choice with this page and a prompt that helps you find your single highest-leverage move. It'll ask about your context first, then recommend a mission and a concrete next step.

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Suggest a change to the list

This map isn't finished. If you think a mission is missing, mis-framed, or doesn't belong, tell me what would make the future better.

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