Anthony Aguirre

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Anthony Aguirre
Anthony Aguirre speaking at the Federation of American Scientists in 2026
Born (1973-07-23) July 23, 1973
Scientific career
FieldsCosmology, physics
InstitutionsUC Santa Cruz
ThesisIntergalactic dust and metals in cosmology (2000)
Lars Hernquist, David Layzer

Anthony Aguirre (born 1973) is an American theoretical cosmologist.[1] Aguirre is an adjunct professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz.[2] He is the co-founder and CEO of the Future of Life Institute.[3] He is also the co-founder and associate scientific director of the Foundational Questions Institute.[4][5][6][7] In 2015, he co-founded the aggregated prediction platform Metaculus with Greg Laughlin. In 2019, he published the pop science book Cosmological Koans.[8][9]

Early life and education

Aguirre was born on July 23, 1973.[10] He received a B.S. in Mathematics/Physics from Brown University in 1995, an M.S. in Astronomy from Harvard University in 1998 and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Harvard University.[1][2]

Career

His research has focused on various topics in theoretical physics, including the early universe, inflation, the foundations of quantum mechanics, foundations of statistical mechanics, gravitational physics, first stars, the intergalactic medium, galaxy formation, and black holes.[11]

Together with Max Tegmark he developed the cosmological interpretation of quantum mechanics.[12]

On March 5, 2025, Aguirre published Keep The Future Human: Why and How We Should Close the Gates to AGI and Superintelligence, and What We Should Build Instead, an extended essay that proposes a scheme for the international regulation of artificial intelligence.[13] On November 6, 2025, he published another extended essay, "Control Inversion", arguing that artificial superintelligence would be "fundamentally uncontrollable" by humans.[14][15]

In the media

  • Aguirre appears in the How Vast is the Cosmos? part of the Closer to Truth PBS series.
  • Aguirre appears on the show Horizon, in the episode "How Big is the Universe?"[16]
  • Aguirre also appears in the episode "Living in a Parallel Universe" of the Naked Science documentary series on the National Geographic Channel.[17]
  • Aguirre was a guest on Sean Carroll’s Mindscape podcast, which was released on June 17, 2019 under the title of "Cosmology, Zen, Entropy, and Information".[18]
  • Aguirre was interviewed in the season 4 of Through the Wormhole, episode 3 ("Can We Survive the Death of the Sun?")[19]
  • In 2022, Aguirre appeared in the Netflix documentary A Trip to Infinity,[20] discussing the mathematical implications of infinity.
  • In 2022, Aguirre participated as a panelist at the Nobel Week Dialogue in Stockholm, organized by the Nobel Prize Foundation, where he took part in discussions entitled "Futurism & Utopian/Dystopian Visions" and "Living with Technology" alongside Nobel laureates including Serge Haroche and Stuart Russell.[21][22]
  • In 2025 Aguirre participated in an episode of the Big Technology Podcast hosted by Alex Kantrowitz, where he discussed whether our push toward increasingly autonomous, general systems puts control out of reach.[23]
  • In 2025, Aguirre appeared at Axios House at SXSW in Austin, Texas, in a "View From the Top" conversation with Axios publisher Nicholas Johnston, where he discussed FLI's campaign to halt the development of AGI and his essay "Keep the Future Human."[24]
  • In 2025, Aguirre was interviewed on the For Humanity: An AI Risk Podcast in an episode titled "Keep the Future Human," where he discussed his four essential measures for ensuring a human-centered AI future and FLI's strategy for spending its resources.[25]
  • In 2025, Aguirre participated in the Tech & AI Forum at UNGA80 organized by Foreign Policy in New York City, where he took part in a panel called "Safeguarding the Future: Coordinated Approaches to Global AI Policy", alongside international policymakers and technology leaders.[26]
  • In 2026, Aguirre appeared at SXSW in Austin, Texas, in a fireside chat with tech ethicist Tristan Harris called "How We Could Lose Control: Avoiding the Paths to Runaway AI," where they discussed the real mechanisms by which humanity could be sidelined by its own AI creations.[27]

References

  1. "Anthony Aguirre". Anthony Aguirre. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  2. Stephens, Tim (28 September 2016). "Physicist Anthony Aguirre appointed to endowed chair in physics of information". UC Santa Cruz. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  3. "Who we are". Foundational Questions Institute. Retrieved 25 Nov 2014.
  4. "Who we are". Future of Life Institute. Retrieved 25 Nov 2014.
  5. Strong, Rebecca (15 January 2015). "3 Things to Know About the Elon Musk-Backed Future of Life Institute". Bostinno. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 Jun 2015.
  6. Hardawar, Devindra (15 January 2015). "Elon Musk donates $10M to keep AI from going full Skynet". Engadget. Retrieved 5 Jun 2015.
  7. Maynard, James (15 January 2015). "Elon Musk Donates $10 Million to Keep Us Safe from Artificial Intelligence". Tech Times. Retrieved 5 Jun 2015.
  8. "Cosmological Koans publisher page". Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 28 Aug 2019.
  9. Natarajan, Priyamvada (7 June 2019). "'Cosmological Koans' Review: Matter and Mystics". The Wall Street Journal.
  10. "Anthony N. Aguirre CV" (PDF). ucsc.edu. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  11. "Anthony Aguirre". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  12. Aguirre, Anthony; Tegmark, Max Erik (August 2010). "Born in an Infinite Universe: a Cosmological Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics". Physical Review. arXiv:1008.1066.
  13. Aguirre, Anthony (5 March 2025). "Keep The Future Human: Why and How We Should Close the Gates to AGI and Superintelligence, and What We Should Build Instead". doi:10.2139/SSRN.4608505. SSRN 4608505. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  14. "Control Inversion". Control Inversion. 2025-11-06. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  15. Pedrielli, Samuel (2025-11-13). ""Control Inversion" Study by FLI: Superintelligence Risks Humanity". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  16. "How Big is the Universe?". Horizon. Season 49. Episode 4. 27 August 2012. BBC Two. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  17. "Living in a Parallel Universe". Naked Science. Season 8. Episode 9. 19 May 2011. National Geographic Channel. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  18. "Episode 51: Anthony Aguirre on Cosmology, Zen, Entropy, and Information". Sean Carroll – Preposterous Universe. 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  19. "Can We Survive the Death of the Sun?". Through the Wormhole. 2026-05-21. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  20. Halperin, Jonathan; Takahashi, Drew (2022-09-26), A Trip to Infinity (Documentary), Makemake, Room 608, retrieved 8 November 2023
  21. "Futurism and utopian/dystopian visions. The future of life". Nobel Prize Foundation. 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  22. "Living with technology. The future of life". Nobel Prize Foundation. 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  23. "Big Technology Podcast Episodes". Alex Kantrowitz. 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  24. "Axios House SXSW: View From the Top conversation with Future of Life Institute". Axios. 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  25. "For Humanity: An AI Risk Podcast". For Humanity. 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  26. Adams, Masin (2025-07-29). "Tech & AI Forum at UNGA80". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  27. "How We Could Lose Control: Avoiding the Paths to Runaway AI". SXSW 2026 Schedule. Retrieved 2026-05-21.