Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilization (2021) is a short book by entrepreneur and philanthropist Yuri Milner. The book argues that while “technological progress has a clear trajectory, human progress is chaotic.” Milner proposes a mission for humanity that can bring order and direction to this chaos: to explore and understand our Universe.
Eureka Manifesto explores the rewards of embracing this mission and the risks that await humanity should we fail to accept it. Milner’s book also contains a five-point action plan that offers a blueprint for accelerating human progress.
Reasons To Embrace Our Shared Mission
There are plenty of good reasons to pursue the mission Milner proposes in Eureka Manifesto. For example, advancing our understanding of the Universe could mean finding answers to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. These challenges include climate change, incurable diseases, and energy scarcity.
Embracing the mission would also bring about unprecedented technological progress. For instance, the discovery of quantum mechanics has transformed our lives in myriad ways, from the creation of cell phones to lasers and medical imaging. What future innovations could see humanity fully realize its potential as a grand civilization?
Meanwhile, accelerating scientific progress could help us prevent or lessen the impact of various existential threats. For instance, a fatal asteroid collision or a technologically superior, hostile alien race could wipe us out unless we develop the scientific mastery to defend ourselves.
Yuri Milner’s Plan to Advance the Mission
Milner suggests a five-point action plan to drive our shared mission forward. The first step in this plan is to invest greater resources into fundamental science and space exploration. Milner believes we should prioritize fundamental research because it’s the field most likely to produce “transformative discoveries and technologies.”
We should also apply artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate fundamental research. This is the second step in Milner’s action plan. He emphasizes the “immense potential” of AI to catalyze dramatic progress in finding answers to science’s biggest questions. By leveraging AI-driven research, we could greatly advance our civilization and improve our lives.
The third step in the plan is to celebrate scientists as heroes. Milner writes that we should honor great scientists of the past and present and recognize their profound contributions to our world. By raising the “profile and prestige” of today’s brilliant researchers, we can inspire more young people to follow in their footsteps.
Next, Milner proposes that we focus education on the Universal Story. This history of the cosmos frames humanity as exceptionally significant because of our ability to think, imagine, and understand. Milner also suggests using art to tell the Universal Story in a “comprehensible, emotionally resonant, and inspiring way.”
Finally, we can all work to create a society that values “knowledge, rational argument, and critical thinking.” This type of society is more likely to favor science and so produce more frequent discoveries in fundamental research. As a result, we can all help spark a new period of Enlightenment and accelerate human progress.
Read Yuri Milner’s Eureka Manifesto for free online.
About Yuri Milner
A former scientist and a Giving Pledge signatory, Yuri Milner has donated millions of dollars to programs driving scientific progress and innovation. These programs include the Breakthrough Prize, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, and the Breakthrough Initiatives.
Established in 2012, the Breakthrough Prize recognizes groundbreaking discoveries in fundamental physics, the life sciences, and math. Breakthrough Prize laureates receive life-changing prize money and cultural acclaim at an annual gala award ceremony.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge encourages young people to think creatively about science. Prizes for the best short video to explain a complex scientific idea include a $250,000 scholarship for the winner, a $100,000 science lab for their school, and a $50,000 prize for their teacher. Applications for the competition are open to 13-to-18-year-olds worldwide every April.
The Breakthrough Initiatives are a suite of space science programs researching the mysteries of life in the Universe. Created in 2015, the Breakthrough Initiatives represent Milner’s long-term investment into fundamental sciences and space exploration.
Milner is also the founder of Tech For Refugees. He and his wife Julia set up the non-profit to fund the refugee relief work of leading tech organizations. Tech For Refugees’ partners include UNICEF USA, Uber, Spotify, Welcome.US, Airbnb.org, and Flexport.org.