# Superintelligence Has No Back Button by David Robinson > “It is urgent that humanity think carefully about the kinds of future it wants to build. Once we have discovered that superintelligence is possible, I do not think there is a back button that returns us to a world where it never happens in some form.” > **— David Robinson**, *The Ezra Klein Show, October 7, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Official episode:** [“This Is Nuts.” An OpenAI Insider Explains Why He Quit](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-nuts-an-openai-insider-explains-why-he-quit/id1548604447?i=1000793623910) — publisher-hosted episode identifying Robinson as Klein's guest and preserving the complete conversation. - **Publisher transcript:** [David Robinson on OpenAI safety and why he quit](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-david-robinson.html) — official *New York Times* episode page and transcript route. - **Timecoded source object:** [[research/David Robinson on OpenAI Safety, Superintelligence, and the Transhumanist Transition|David Robinson on OpenAI Safety, Superintelligence, and the Transhumanist Transition]], **1:09:03** — reconciled from the supplied complete YouTube auto-caption transcript and kept in broadcast order. - **Editorial treatment:** Verbal filler, stutters and transcript punctuation are normalized for reading; the quotation remains one contiguous source object and does not join different turns. - **Context:** In this portion of the conversation, Robinson addresses superintelligence, economic transition and the unresolved meaning of a good human future. The complete premise, mechanism and consequence are retained so the statement remains intelligible apart from the episode. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor|AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Last Migration Will Not Be Human|The Last Migration Will Not Be Human]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|We Were Never Going to Make It!]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/David Robinson|David Robinson]] - [[wiki/Superintelligence as Force Majeure|Superintelligence as Force Majeure]] - [[wiki/Superintelligence|Superintelligence]] - [[wiki/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “It is urgent that humanity think carefully about the kinds of future it wants to build. Once we have discovered that superintelligence is possible, I do not think there is a back button that returns us to a world where it never happens in some form.” — David Robinson, The Ezra Klein Show, October 7, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-david-robinson-superintelligence-has-no-back-button ```