# Achiam says people confuse personal reward with causal power over the future

> Original title: People have a really confused sense of what "power" is and will mean in the post-singularity future. There's a frequent conflation betwee...

- Source: Joshua Achiam
- Published: 2026-10-30T18:53:17.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/g6697ibudnsch9lkgpss7w690
- Original: https://x.com/jachiam0/status/2116242051339862281

## Summary

Joshua Achiam argues that people misunderstand "power" in a post-singularity future, conflating personal reward, such as wealth and pleasant experiences, with causal power to shape how matter and energy are organized. He says people are on track to gain the former at the expense of the latter, and that this distinction is lost on many. Achiam says the future is not necessarily bad, but argues that specific choices should be made with that distinction in view.

## Post

People have a really confused sense of what "power" is and will mean in the post-singularity future. There's a frequent conflation between the power to max out your personal reward registers - e.g. being wealthy and having all the nice experiences you want to have - and causal power to influence the organization of matter and energy in the future. People are on track to obtain the former at the expense of the latter, and this distinction is lost on many. That's not to say we're heading towards something necessarily bad, but IMHO we should be much more careful about what specific choices we make in the details with a clear-eyed understanding of this distinction.