# Civilization Needs an Open Frontier to Grow and Thrive by Alexander Wissner-Gross > "In order for society—for human civilization—to grow and thrive, it seems to be essential that there be a frontier and that it not be closed off. Right now, the obvious frontier is the superintelligence frontier." > **— Alexander Wissner-Gross**, *Moonshots #309, recorded November 6, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Source dossier:** [[research/Midterms, Politics, AI, and Infrastructure Research - Moonshots|Midterms, Politics, AI, and Infrastructure Research — Moonshots]]. - **Direct publication or recording:** [recording, 01:17:03–01:17:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF-ADiC7Khs&t=4623s). - **Editorial form:** The Reminder preserves the prepared contiguous quotation; punctuation and spoken disfluency treatment are recorded in the candidate map when applicable. - **Context and treatment:** Alexander Wissner-Gross identifies human civilization as the beneficiary, an open superintelligence frontier as the operating domain, and continued growth and vitality as the reason openness matters; [recording, 01:17:03–01:17:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF-ADiC7Khs&t=4623s). Direct contiguous passage selected after the historical examples; no bracket or omission. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/The Politics of AI Infrastructure|The Politics of AI Infrastructure]] - **Collection:** [[collections/American Infrastructure|American Infrastructure]] - **Collection:** [[collections/American|American Culture Collection]] - **Article:** [[articles/Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower from AI Factory to Citizen|Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower from AI Factory to Citizen]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Gigawatt Is the New Measure of War|The Gigawatt Is the New Measure of War]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Political Party That Inherits Super Intelligence in 2028|The Political Party That Inherits Super Intelligence in 2028]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Alexander Wissner-Gross|Alexander Wissner-Gross]] - [[wiki/Space Survival|Space Survival]] - [[wiki/Moonshots 309|Moonshots 309]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "In order for society—for human civilization—to grow and thrive, it seems to be essential that there be a frontier and that it not be closed off. Right now, the obvious frontier is the superintelligence frontier." — Alexander Wissner-Gross, Moonshots #309, recorded November 6, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-alexander-wissner-gross-civilization-needs-an-open-frontier-to-grow-and-thrive ```