# e/acc (Effective Accelerationism) A techno-optimist ideology and online movement advocating for maximum-speed AI development with minimal or no regulatory constraints. The name riffs on "effective altruism" (EA) while inverting its cautious stance on AI: where EA-aligned AI safety researchers argue for slowing down and aligning AI, e/acc argues that acceleration itself is the moral imperative — that slowing AI development is the true existential risk because it delays the transformative benefits of advanced AI. ## The position The e/acc argument, simplified: technological progress is the primary driver of human flourishing. Attempts to slow, regulate, or constrain AI development are driven by fear, regulatory capture, or incumbents protecting their position. The greatest risk is not that AI develops too fast, but that it develops too slowly — leaving humanity stuck with current problems (disease, poverty, energy scarcity) that advanced AI could solve. The movement was co-founded in 2022 by two pseudonymous figures: "Beff Jezos" (unmasked by Forbes in December 2023 as [[Guillaume Verdon]], a quantum computing researcher) and [[Bayeslord]], who has never been publicly identified. It emerged on Twitter/X over 2022–2023 and gained traction in Silicon Valley circles, with prominent sympathizers including [[Marc Andreessen]] (whose "Techno-Optimist Manifesto" shares e/acc's core commitments) and — on specific issues — Elon Musk. ## The rhetorical function "e/acc" does several things in AI discourse: **It gives deregulation an identity.** Opposition to AI regulation existed before e/acc, but e/acc gave it an aesthetic, a community, a meme vocabulary (🔥 emoji, "acc" in bios), and an ideological framework. It transformed "I don't want regulation" from a lobbyist position into a subcultural identity. **It reframes safety as the enemy.** By arguing that deceleration is the true risk, e/acc inverts the safety community's moral framework. Safety researchers who see themselves as protecting humanity are recast as obstacles to human progress — a framing that resonates with Silicon Valley's anti-regulatory culture. **It maps onto the arms race.** e/acc's "build faster" imperative aligns with the [[AI Arms Race]] logic: if the U.S. decelerates, China won't. This gives e/acc a national-security wrapper that extends its appeal beyond techno-libertarians to hawks and defense-oriented policymakers. ## See Also - [[Kardashev Gradient]] — e/acc's stated goal: maximize civilizational energy use - [[AI Doomerism]] — the opposing camp - [[TESCREAL]] — the ideology complex e/acc partially inhabits - [[AI Arms Race]] — the geopolitical logic e/acc aligns with - [[AI Safety]] — what e/acc opposes