# "What just happened? Pragmatism and Pessimization" by Richard_Ngo

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/lesswrong-curated-popular-5643401/what-just-happened-pragmatism-and-pessimization-by-richard-ngo.md
Podcast: [LessWrong (Curated & Popular)](https://stenobird.com/podcast/lesswrong-curated-popular-5643401)
Published: 2026-08-24T09:45:16+00:00
Episode link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2037297/episodes/19691639-what-just-happened-pragmatism-and-pessimization-by-richard_ngo.mp3
Audio file: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2037297/episodes/19691639-what-just-happened-pragmatism-and-pessimization-by-richard_ngo.mp3
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Duration seconds: 3059

## Resource

This post is about the major role alignment researchers played in advancing the frontier of AI capabilities over the last decade, and how the distinction between “alignment” and “capabilities” research thereby lost most of its meaning. In particular, I’ll chronicle the development of what I’ll call the “pragmatic alignment” paradigm, and how it helped the three leading AGI companies push hard on the path to AGI under the banner of safety. This was not a subtle effect—it's apparent even to in...

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## Transcript

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