Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilisation is a short book by investor and philanthropist Yuri Milner. A former theoretical physicist turned tech entrepreneur, Milner wrote Eureka Manifesto in 2021. The book discusses humanity’s place in the Universe, the role we could play in its future, and our civilisation’s potential for radical transformation.
Eureka Manifesto explores several core themes, promoting a view of humanity as seekers of knowledge in the cosmos. These are four of the manifesto’s key principles:
1. Embracing A Shared Mission for Humanity
In the first chapter of Eureka Manifesto, Milner asserts that, just like any successful organisation, human civilisation needs a mission. Many organisations use a mission statement to sum up their values, culture, and objectives. Milner cites various mission statements, like NASA’s, which is to “reach for new heights and reveal the unknown.”
Without a shared mission, Milner believes we’re unlikely to thrive or survive in the long term. Without a shared mission, we leave ourselves vulnerable to existential threats, like major asteroid collisions, and risk stalling scientific progress.
Milner proposes that our mission — our birthright, even — is to explore and understand our Universe. Embracing this mission would mean accepting the advancement of human knowledge as our collective destiny. Individuals, nations, and organisations would commit themselves to the pursuit of knowledge, exploration, and scientific progress.
This principle, the importance of a shared mission to unite humanity, is perhaps the most crucial to Eureka Manifesto’s message. Without emphasising the importance of this mission, the manifesto’s other principles — such as investing in fundamental science — might lack the necessary driving force to effect meaningful progress on a global scale.
2. Investing In Fundamental Science and Space Exploration
In Eureka Manifesto, Milner describes the various risks of failing to pursue the mission, including the threat of extinction. However, the reward of embracing the mission is “the emergence of a civilisation whose grandeur we can only guess at, and minds whose capacities we cannot even imagine.”
Milner envisions a distant future in which our descendants explore and understand more and more of the Universe. By travelling to new worlds, future humans may create incredible forms of culture and ways of life that transcend even our wildest science fiction fantasies.
To realise this grand galactic civilisation, Milner believes we must accelerate our exploration of space, particularly the Solar System. We must also allocate resources and funding to support fundamental scientific research, which he calls “the most fertile ground for transformative discoveries and technologies.”
The Breakthrough Initiatives represent Milner’s investment in these research fields. Launched in 2015, the Breakthrough Initiatives are a set of space science programmes furthering the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The initiatives also foster public debate from a planetary perspective.
Milner regularly shares groundbreaking stories from fundamental research and space exploration on his X (formerly Twitter) account. On 10 May 2024, he shared an article about possible new evidence of the existence of Planet 9. Researchers first suggested the existence of this mysterious planet, believed to exist near the edge of the Solar System, in 2015.
On May 12, Milner shared an article detailing how Scripps Research chemists have proposed an answer to a long-standing mystery: why life’s essential molecules exist in just one chiral form. The scientists suggest that this “homochirality” is due to a phenomenon called kinetic resolution. This breakthrough sheds light on prebiotic chemistry and the origins of life itself.
3. Harnessing AI for Scientific Progress
Technologists and researchers have made major strides in AI research in recent years. Despite their relative novelty, AI tools like ChatGPT are already helping people in various aspects of their lives, from planning meals to learning new languages.
AI also has enormous potential to supercharge scientific research. Many researchers in fields like health care and climate science are already harnessing the power of AI to drive innovation. AI-driven research and applications are also rapidly emerging in the fundamental sciences, including astronomy and particle physics.
Using AI to accelerate scientific progress is a key principle of Eureka Manifesto. Milner believes that directing AI research towards fundamental science could power dramatic advancements on the biggest questions of life in the Universe. With AI’s seemingly limitless potential, scientists could uncover more and more important findings to improve our lives.
On May 8, Milner posted an article to his X account about a new AI capable of formulating physical theories by recognising patterns in complex datasets. Historically, this feat was something only great physicists like Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were capable of achieving.
The researchers who developed the AI hope the system can build a bridge between “the complex inner workings of AI and theories that humans can understand.”
4. Celebrating Scientists as Heroes
In a 2021 YouGov survey, scientists emerged as the most respected profession worldwide amongst adults. When asked if they would be happy for their child to pursue a career as a scientist, most of the 22,000+ people surveyed said yes.
However, a 2023 study of 2,000 children revealed that only 9% aspired to become scientists. Meanwhile, 19% said they wanted to be a YouTuber. Nonetheless, 23% of children said that scientists are the most likely to bring about positive change in society.
Scientific progress seems inevitable. However, Milner reminds us that “enlightenments can fail.” Many proto-revolutions arose and fell before the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries ushered in a new age of rational inquiry.
Scientific progress could stagnate again if we don’t make science a cultural priority and encourage young people to pursue careers in science and maths. One way to address this is to raise the profile of science as an exciting, prestigious profession in the public consciousness.
Celebrating scientists of the past and present as heroes who have shaped the course of civilisation is a key principle of Eureka Manifesto. It’s also a core aspect of Milner’s plan of action to advance our shared mission to explore and understand the Universe.
Milner’s contributions to this goal include the Breakthrough Prize, which recognises the work of the world’s top researchers in the fundamental sciences. Each Breakthrough Prize is $3 million. There are also prizes of $50,000 to $100,000 for early-career researchers.
The Breakthrough Prize honours laureates at an annual, glamorous ceremony that features celebrities from the worlds of entertainment and entrepreneurship. Available to watch online, the 2024 Breakthrough Prize Ceremony included live performances from singer-songwriter Charlie Puth and magician Dan White.
The Grand Scope of Yuri Milner’s Eureka Manifesto
At just 100 pages long, Eureka Manifesto has a vast scope, encompassing some 14 billion years of history and the entire Universe (and beyond). The short book explores profound themes of human potential and cosmic exploration, with just four of its key principles outlined here.
Ultimately, Eureka Manifesto serves as a rallying cry for humanity to embrace a bold and ambitious mission. Leveraging the full force of our collective intellect and innovation, together we can explore and understand our Universe and shape our future.
Read Eureka Manifesto online for free.
About Yuri Milner
Yuri Milner is a successful technology investor and prolific science philanthropist. Growing up in the 1960s, he read Iosif Shklovsky and Carl Sagan’s book Intelligent Life in the Universe and became fascinated with the idea of extraterrestrial intelligence. Inspired by this and other profound scientific mysteries, he started his career as a physicist before switching to business to pursue investment.
In 2010, Milner founded DST Global, which has since become one of the world’s largest tech investment firms. The company’s portfolio has included several leading internet platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp.
In 2012, Milner and his wife Julia joined the Giving Pledge, vowing to donate at least half of their wealth during their lifetimes to mainly scientific causes. That same year, the couple co-founded the Breakthrough Prize with Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg, and Ann Wojcicki.
The Milners have since founded several other non-profit initiatives to promote scientific ideas, such as the Breakthrough Junior Challenge. This global science video competition for students aged 13 to 18 offers life-changing prizes, including a scholarship for post-secondary education worth $250,000.
