Includes bibliographical references (pages 423-460) and index.
Contents:
Our potential. Choices. Standing at the precipice. How we got here -- Where we might go -- The precipice -- Existential risk. Understanding existential risk -- Looking to the present -- Looking to our future -- Looking to our past -- Civilization virtues -- Cosmic significance -- Uncertainty -- Our neglect of existential risks -- Part two: the risks. Natural risks. Asteroids & comets -- Supervolcanic eruptions -- Stellar explosions -- Other natural risks -- The total natural risk -- Anthropogenic risks. Nuclear weapons -- Climate change -- Environmental damage -- Future risks. Pandemics -- Unaligned artificial intelligence -- Dystopian scenarios -- Other risks -- Part three: the path forward. The risk landscape. Quantifying the risks -- Combining and comparing risks -- Risk factors -- Which risks? -- Safeguarding humanity. Grand strategy for humanity -- Risks without precedent -- International coordination -- Technological progress -- Research on existential risk -- What you can do -- Our potential. Duration -- Scale -- Quality -- Choices.
Summary:
"Drawing on over a decade of research, ... [the author] explores the cutting-edge science behind the risks we face. It puts them in the context of the greater story of humanity: showing how ending these risks is among the most pressing moral issues of our time. And it points the way forward, to the actions and strategies that can safeguard humanity"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.