Erika Ilves

Cofounder, Offworld

Search every verified Erika Ilves interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Erika Ilves, cofounder of Offworld, has given TEDx talks in which she argued that humanity is allocating its time and resources poorly and called for a shift toward "hyper-visionary ventures" aimed at species-level survival. In a 2013 talk, she cited Elon Musk's SpaceX, Modern Meadow's lab-grown meat, and the B612 Foundation's asteroid defense as examples of such efforts, and she urged audiences to "consider letting go of the rope and going for Superman" — a phrase she used to describe pursuing audacious, long-term goals. She described a "starter kit" for this approach as "cosmic perspective, science fiction, and nerves of steel," or more simply "read, steal and ignore." In a 2011 talk with Anna Stillwell, Ilves discussed "The Human Project," a framework she co-authored that proposes an agenda for humanity's survival. She argued that humans have the freedom to create and reach for the stars but that one billion people still lack access to basic survival needs. She suggested ideas such as crowd-funding a satellite to expand internet access, creating a "human technology road map 2050," and building a space-faring civilization. She stated that "from the human perspective it's a matter of survival it's a must we must create a space faring civilization to survive."