Damon Binder

Damon Binder

I'm a researcher at Coefficient Giving, working on risks from AI and biology, with a background in theoretical physics.

Latest posts

Freeing Thucydides

Wars happen because states cannot credibly commit to the agreements they would both prefer. AIs could supply the missing enforcer, ending competition for control of the future.

The easiest pathway to control is through executive power

Power is already centralised in the US President and Chinese General Secretary. Whoever seeks control during an AI transition, the easiest route runs through the executive.

Podcast: How Fast is Post-AGI Growth?

A Forethought podcast interview on how fast a post-AGI economy could grow.

See more →

Projects

Random Lives

Biographical stories of randomly sampled people from across all of human history.

Physics Simulations

A collection of interactive physics simulations that run in your browser.

Other stuff

Historical recipes

Reconstructing dishes from the ancient and medieval world.

Book recommendations

Non-fiction books that I like, organized by topic.

Physics research

My PhD dissertation and earlier physics work.